Lehi Sports
Lehi coaches tapped for honors
A pair of Lehi coaches have been selected for special recognition and were surprised with their awards in a ceremony at the school on Dec. 18.
Eric Madsen has been named the 2023-24 Utah Coach of the Year for Baseball by the National Federation of State High School Associations, and Dan Rice has received the Gold Star Coach award from the Utah High School Activities Association(UHSAA) recognizing coaching excellence.
School administrators were notified of the awards earlier in December but elected to keep the news under wraps until it was announced on the 18th.
Madsen joined Coach Jason Ingersoll’s staff in 2021 after accepting a position as a physical education teacher at the school. He became the head baseball coach in 2023 when Ingersoll resigned from coaching but not teaching after the Pioneers won the 5A title in 2022 and finished second in 2023.
Prior to coming to Lehi, Madsen spent 18 years at UVSC/Utah Valley University as he built that program into a Division I contender.
The Wolverines won both the regular season and Great West Conference tournament championships in 2010, 2011 and 2012, and Madsen was named Coach of the Year after each of those campaigns. He was responsible for numerous other accomplishments during his time there and at previous institutions.
He became head coach for the Pioneers as the school transitioned into Class 6A after graduating a lot of experience from the previous roster. The team earned mixed results early and finished the regular season with a 16-9 record and second place in Region 3.
However, after that they went 7-1 in the state tournament including eliminating the No. 1 seed and secured the second state championship in three years and the first for the school at the 6A level.
“Coach Madsen has done a tremendous job for the Lehi program,” said athletic director Quincy Lewis. “Last season he brought along a young group of players that kept getting better as the season progressed and who culminated the season with a State Championship.
“Coach is a winner and very deserving of this award,” Lewis said.
Rice is one of the longest-serving coaches at Lehi and in the state. He has been associated with the wrestling program for decades and has also been an assistant in the football program. He was on the sidelines for all three recent football championships.
His wrestling program has produced dozens of state medalists during his tenure as well as at least 15 individual state champions. In addition, participating in wrestling under his guidance has helped generations of Pioneer gridders to improve their physical preparation for football.
“Coach Rice has been a steady presence in Lehi athletics for many years,” Lewis said. “It is great to see him recognized for excellence in coaching.” The Gold Star designation automatically placed Rice in the pool of candidates for a UHSAA Coach of the Year award, which will be announced in March.
“He is well respected throughout the state and his program has been characterized by toughness and integrity through the years,” Lewis added.
