Principia's Jay Blossom Honored as Missouri Small School Coach of the Year After Back-to-Back State Titles
Jay Blossom has coached five state championship teams across two schools — and he says this year's Principia Panthers squad was the best of them all.
Jay Blossom has coached five state championship teams across two schools — and he says this year's Principia Panthers squad was the best of them all.
Blossom, the Principia boys basketball head coach, was recognized by SI.com as Missouri's top small-school boys basketball coach for the 2025-26 season after guiding the Panthers to a 29-2 record and their second consecutive MSHSAA Class 3 state title. MaxPreps ranked Principia No. 4 nationally, and The Sporting News placed them No. 6 in its final national Top 25.
"I hate ranking them. They're all special," Blossom told West News Magazine. "This I will say. I love all my teams and players but this was the best team I've ever coached. I never dreamed of coaching a team ranked in the top 10 in the country."
The Panthers capped the season with a dominant 98-34 win over Miller Career Academy at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. It was the program's second straight Class 3 crown — and Blossom's fifth state title overall, adding to the three he won at Webster Groves.
Blossom built a schedule designed to test his roster against the nation's best. Principia competed in the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield in January, where the Panthers — ranked No. 9 nationally at the time — fell to No. 11 Calvary Christian Academy of Fort Lauderdale 62-56 before bouncing back with a 64-57 third-place win over No. 17 Bartlett of Tennessee. Those were Principia's only two losses on the season.
Senior guards Jaedyn Jones and Lincoln Goodwin powered the Panthers through the postseason. Jones scored 20 points on 6-of-7 three-point shooting in the district title game against Whitfield, while Goodwin eclipsed the 1,500-point career scoring mark during a playoff win over Pembroke Hill.
Blossom was also named to the Jersey Mike's Naismith High School Boys Basketball Coach of the Year Watch List this season.
His coaching philosophy stays rooted in the fundamentals: "We want to win the rebounding battle. We want to talk more than the other team. We want to take charges."
"My first one at Webster was pretty special because it was the first," Blossom said. "But they're all special. I don't take any of them for granted."
