After a search that took just over a month, Northwest College has named its new women’s basketball coach. Douglas High School girls’ head coach Cody Helenbolt was named the new interim coach Tuesday, replacing Lauren Davis who left in early April.

“It kind of happened fast and was kind of unexpected,” Helenbolt said.

He had not become aware of the position initially when Davis left, but became aware 2-3 weeks after its opening, which led to a quick turnaround in him receiving the position.

Helenbolt has served as the head basketball coach in Douglas since 2014, leading the Bearcats over a dominant stretch that has included a 258-28 record and seven state titles.

“I feel I have achieved all my goals as a high school coach personally,” Helenbolt said. “It’s always great to see kids grow and move on, but I feel like I’ve gotten the program here to where I wanted it to be.”

That stretch has included the last six state 3A championships, while his team was also favored heading into the 2020 state championships before the event was canceled due to COVID-19.

“You look at his resume, it's pretty dang impressive,” Northwest College athletic director Brian Erickson said. “He’s been successful being at Douglas … His experience overall being a head coach for 11 years I feel he can just step in, take over and be successful here.”

Leaving the Douglas program was not necessarily an easy decision for Helenbolt, as the team is expected to compete once again for the state title next year after finishing this past season as undefeated champions.

“I feel bad for my seniors, they’re a great class,” Helenbolt said. “I felt ready to pass on a healthy program to somebody.”

During his time at Douglas, Helenbolt had also served as an assistant coach under Powell’s Jaci Hitz during her tenure, one of many connections that Helenbolt has to the Big Horn Basin.

“My wife’s family is from the area so we go up there a ton,” Helenbolt said. “It’s an area I have always wanted to live in.”

He also served as an assistant coach in Laramie, having picked up his first coaching position at the high school level after attending the University of Wyoming.

Helenbolt also had a strong career in high school, and was part of the All-State team in 2002 when he attended Lander High School.

“I just decided I wasn’t going to go pro in basketball and went to UW,” Helenbolt said. “Coaching has always been something that I have had a knack for.”

Throughout the interview process, Helenbolt was in direct contact with Erickson and men’s coach Andy Ward, saying the pair made the conversation easy during the interview process.

“Both of them have a basketball background. I’ve watched both of his kids (Erickson) play for Powell and I was familiar with him a little bit. We have similar ideas about things, it was an easy conversation,” Helenbolt said. “I’m excited to work with those two.”

SENSE OF COMMUNITY

Moving to Powell, Helenbolt knows that the community cares about Northwest and its athletics, and he wants to build connections with people from the start.

“That will be the first thing is getting to know everybody, lay that foundation,” Helenbolt said. “We will get the right kids that want to work hard and be a good member of the community.”

Helenbolt said that he will be bringing his wife, along with three daughters into the community.

“I think he’s going to be great for us. His connections with people and family, the Big Horn Basin, I think he’s going to be a difference maker for the community. He’s going to build relationships and get people to games,” Erickson said.

RECRUITING

Now that Helenbolt has been named the coach at Northwest, he has already hit the ground running, communicating with several recruits with hopes to bring in players who will help the program find success in a competitive Region IX.

“We will be finding kids that are going to contribute academically and be involved,” Helenbolt said. “We are going to want kids that are going to contribute to the success of the program.”

Erickson noted that with the success of Helenbolt, he already has several connections around the state and abroad due to his athletes moving on to the next level.

“For recruiting, he knows everybody in Wyoming. His teams have been so successful that he has girls on his teams that have been recruited to colleges and he’s grown those connections too,” Erickson said.

Helenbolt said he is not expected to move permanently to Powell until July, but will be back-and-forth over the next five weeks with recruiting and finding his footing in the area.

“I’m really excited about it and can’t wait to get going and be a part of Powell and Northwest,” Helenbolt said.