JOHN DAY — RC Huerta has been named one of the best basketball coaches in Oregon’s Class 2A division.

The Grant Union High School head man was announced as the coach of the year in the Blue Mountain Conference for the 2023-24 basketball season at the Blue Mountain Conference tournament in Pendleton. Also honored was the Grant Union basketball team, which received the sportsmanship award, and four Prospectors players were named to all-conference teams.

“I really felt honored,” Huerta said of the coach of the year nod. “I was surprised and honored to earn that. I was thankful for it, though — it shows that hard work pays off.”

Huerta emphasized that the hard work he referenced extends to the other coaches on his staff, the players on the team and his family.

“If we didn’t have that kind of unit, that kind of a team — a family unit, so to speak — I wouldn’t have been able to earn that honor,” Huerta said. “I felt blessed, privileged and honored. It was great.”

While there has been plenty of praise for the job Huerta has done in his fifth year as the head Grant Union basketball coach, there has also been plenty of praise reserved for his crop of players named to the Blue Mountain Conference’s all-league team.

Seniors Sheldon Lenz and Talon Van Cleave picked up first-team all-league honors, and sophomore Baryn Huerta notched second-team all league honors. Junior Ryland Beil received an all-league honorable mention.

“I felt Talon and Sheldon especially, along with Eric (Culley) — our three seniors — they were just such excellent leaders that the coaches in the Blue Mountain Conference recognized that,” Huerta said. “They took notice of their hard work and how far they’ve come in their three years with me.

“Baryn is a sophomore, and he showed a lot of poise,” Huerta added. “He had some sophomore moments, for sure, but he showed quite a bit of poise running the point for us.”

Beil continued to work hard this year, according to Huerta. He was already sporting a reputation as one of the best players on the Grant Union squad, and opposing players took notice this season.

“Teams were really gunning for him this year,” Huerta said. “They knew that he was one of our top scorers over the past couple years and they made it real difficult on him this year, but he still persevered through that and was able to get himself an honorable mention.”

Grant Union finished as the runner-up in the Blue Mountain Conference in 2024, with a 16-10 overall record and a 6-4 record in league play. The Pros fell to Willamina in the opening round of the state tournament, finishing the 2024 campaign as the 11th-ranked team in the state at the class 2A level.