By Bill Brewer It’s back to where it all began for Dr. Sedonna Prater. And that is an answered prayer. As the 2023-24 academic year starts, Dr. Prater transitions from superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Knoxville to vice president of academics at Knoxville Catholic High School. And while …
Knoxville Catholic names new boys basketball head coach
Knoxville Catholic High School on May 30 announced Gabriel Blair as the next head boys basketball coach of the Fighting Irish. Mr. Blair hails from Gastonia, N.C., and is a coach, professional trainer, and basketball clinician. Since 2014, he has owned Relentless Sports Club and since 2015 has served as …
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, KCHS alum, Cormac McCarthy dies
By The East Tennessee Catholic Cormac McCarthy, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and Knoxville native who graduated from Knoxville Catholic High School in 1951, died June 13. He was 89. Mr. McCarthy passed away of natural causes at his residence in Santa Fe, N.M., where he has called home for decades, …
KCHS spring teams win multiple state titles
The Fighting Irish capture their first baseball crown, dominate in tennis, and collect five track victories By Dan McWilliams Knoxville Catholic High School in May made the most of the annual TSSAA Spring Fling spring-sports championships. Fighting Irish athletes came home with a number of Division II, Class AA state …
Knoxville Catholic High School holds graduation
By Bill Brewer Knoxville Catholic High School marked its 91st graduation ceremony on May 12 as 164 seniors walked across the stage to receive their diplomas. Commencement was held in the school’s football stadium, which was filled almost to capacity with family and friends of the graduates. It was a …
KCHS students have medicine on their minds in new club
By Dan McWilliams Knoxville Catholic High School junior Andrew Dreiser has a strong interest in a medical career, and he has shared his zeal for that field with many of his fellow students by starting what has become the extremely popular Irish Medicine club. Begun in the fall, Irish Medicine …
KCHS girls basketball team wins first state title
The Lady Irish defeat a strong Ensworth squad 64-59 in the finals as Sydney Mains earns MVP By Dan McWilliams On paper, the Ensworth High School girls basketball team and its 27-4 record made it seem like a heavy favorite over Knoxville Catholic High School in the Division II-AA state …
Gatorade honors KCHS runner Keegan Smith
In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade on Jan. 30 announced that Keegan Smith of Knoxville Catholic High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Tennessee Boys Cross Country Player of the Year, the second straight year the Fighting Irish runner has won the award. Keegan …
Knoxville Catholic’s Deondrea Lindsey named state’s top soph in basketball
Knoxville Catholic High School sophomore basketball standout Deondrea Lindsey was recently named the top player in the state for the 2025 signing class by 247Sports. The 6-foot-7, 205-pound Deondrea is receiving collegiate offers from Division I programs Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, and SMU. The Fighting Irish finished the season …
KCHS tennis player follows in mom’s footsteps
Gigi Sompayrac is bound for college in the sport her mother, Cathy, also played for the Lady Irish By Bill Brewer The circle is now complete. May the circle be unbroken. Knoxville Catholic High School senior Gigi Sompayrac put the finishing touches on that 360-degree journey on Feb. 1 when …
KCHS announces hiring of new girls soccer coach
Knoxville Catholic High School on Jan. 18 announced the hiring of Josh Martin as its new head girls soccer coach. He replaces Chris Quinn, who was coach for one year. Mr. Martin comes to Knoxville Catholic after seven seasons as head boys and girls coach at T.C. Roberson High School …
KCHS athletes earn fall-sports honors
Knoxville Catholic High School athletes and a coach recently earned postseason recognition for their achievements in fall sports. The Tennessee Sports Writers Association announced its Division II-Class AAA all-state teams for football. Fighting Irish offensive lineman Trevor Duncan, defensive back Braylon Harmon, and punter Brock Taylor were honored. Making the …
