Nichols new Bluejays boys basketball coach

After six years in big school basketball, Ryan Nichols is moving is moving closer to home.

The Platte City native was hired as the new boys basketball coach at West Platte, replacing Dillon Higdon.

Nichols comes to West Platte after spending the past two years at St. Joseph Lafayette. He guided the Fighting Irish to two district titles in his tenure and the team won the Midland Empire Conference title this season.

“I grew up in a one-school town and a lot can be said about that, with the community support and everyone pulling in the same direction,” Nichols said. “At West Platte, everyone grows up and wants to be a Bluejay.
“When it came open, I was intrigued. They have poured a lot into the school and the school is a priority for people. And the prospect for success was intriguing.”

Prior to coaching the Class 4 Irish, Nichols spent four years coaching at Class 5 Oak Park High School in Kansas City. He began his coaching career with a three-year stint at Class 2 DeKalb. Incidentally, in guiding the Tigers to the postseason, they beat West Platte in a playoff game in 2012.

Nichols has won four district titles in his nine years as a head coach. He takes over a Bluejays program that has won a combined five games the past two years and hasn’t had a winning record since 2014-15.

Prior to that, the Bluejays were pretty solid, posting back-to-back 25-win seasons and reached the Class 2 title game in 2012-13.

He will teach physical education classes and assist with the track and field team.

The Platte County High School graduate played three sports for the Pirates and became a 1,000-point scorer. The 2000 PCHS graduate attended the University of Missouri earning a degree in communications. He has since earned a Master’s from Rockhurst and is working on a specialist degree at William Woods.

Nichols’ wife, Colleen, is a counselor at Oak Park High School. The couple has two children, Rylie, 3, and Brynlie, 1. The move will benefit the couple as they were looking to get closer to the Kansas City area and will look to live somewhere in between their two jobs.

The hiring was one of two announced by West Platte on April 11. The other was hiring Katie Newsome as a fourth-grade teacher. She most recently worked for the St. Joseph School District, serving the past seven years at Pickett Elementary.

Newsome and her husband, Paul, are active members of the First Baptist Church in Platte City. 

Paul is a deacon with the church. The couple has three children: Haddon, 7, Claire, 5, and Sadie, 1.