Joe Legerski Enters RSHS Hall of Fame as Winningest Coach in UW History

Joe Legerski Enters RSHS Hall of Fame as Winningest Coach in UW History

SweetwaterNOW congratulates the Class of 2019 Rock Springs High School Hall of Fame inductees. We will feature each inductee throughout the week leading up the banquet on Saturday, September 7. Profile features are made possible by Tanner Family Dentistry.

Joe Legerski – Distinguished Alumni

Joe Legerski was born in Rock Springs on July 24, 1957, to Joseph and Edith “Bonnie” Legerski, a 2018 Rock Springs High School Hall of Fame inductee.

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Joe competed in sports from a young age and graduated from RSHS in 1975. While competing for the Tigers, he earned six letters; three in football and three in basketball.

Coach Joe Legerski leaves UW with a 314-186 overall record and nine postseason tournament appearance. (Photo courtesy of wyomingextensions.org.)

Following the 1974-75 season, Joe was named to the All-Regional, All-State, and AP All-State basketball teams. Following high school, Joe attended the University of Wyoming where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education in 1979.

The Coaching Career Begins

After graduating from Wyoming, Joe became the assistant boys’ basketball coach at Rock Springs High School, a position he would hold for five seasons.

Joe then became the head girl’s basketball coach at RSHS from 1984-1986. Following one season as the head coach of the women’s team at Western Wyoming Community College, Joe was hired as an assistant coach of the UW women’s basketball team from 1987 to 1991.

From 1991-2003, Joe was the assistant women’s coach at the University of Utah under head coach Elaine Elliot. He also served as the associate head coach from 1998-2003.

During his time as an assistant, Utah won three conference tournament championships, between the Western Athletic Conference in 1991 and 1995, and the Mountain West Conference in 2000.

A Legendary Career

Named head coach of the women’s basketball program at the University of Wyoming on May 1, 2003, Joe became the sixth coach in team history and later became the winningest coach in any sport in UW history.

In partnership with Tanner Family Dentistry, we bring you these profiles of the inductees as we approach the Hall of Fame ceremony.

He led the Cowgirls to 10, 20-plus game winning seasons, most recently a 25-9 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the Mountain West Conference during the 2018-2019 season. He won three Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year Awards while at UW, most recently in the 2017-2018 season.

Joe compiled an overall record of 314-186, a winning percentage of .628. He led the Cowgirls to nine tournament appearances including eight WNIT tournament bids and one NCAA tournament.

The Cowgirls won the 2007 WNIT championship with a 27-9 record. The teams’ overall WNIT record under Coach Legerski was 16-7 and Joe’s teams compiled the most wins in Mountain West Conference history at 159.

Academic Accomplishments

But the Cowgirls under Joe didn’t just excel on the basketball court. The teams were extremely successful in the classroom as well.

During his time at UW, Joe coached players that earned multiple academic honors, including 74 Academic All-MWC student-athletes, 46 of whom earned Mountain West Scholar-Athlete awards.

The last three seasons found the Wyoming team ranked in the top 25 schools academically, with the 2018-2019 team ranked as the #6 team in the entire nation. The Cowgirls had a team GPA of 3.688.

Family Life

Joe and his wife Jamie are parents to three children. His stepson Zane Beadles played in the National Football League for nine seasons and is now married to Meredith Anderson.

Zane and Meredith have two children, Luke and Leighton. Joe and Jamie’s daughter Madison is a chemical engineer for Edwards Life Sciences and will be married this fall to Wade Gulden. Son Joseph III is a recruiter for Insight Global.

Jamie is a graphic design marketing specialist for Western States Bank, and after 40 successful seasons of coaching basketball, Joe decided to hang up his clipboard and retire after this past season.

Image courtesy of wrrnetwork.com.