Awards Under Coach Nemechek
- D2CCA All Region, Maggie Hutka, 2023-24
- RMAC First Team All Conference, Maggie Hutka, 2023-24
- RMAC Honorable Mention, Dasiya Jones, 2023-24
- RMAC Honorable Mention, Nicole Bowlin, 2023-24
- RMAC Tournament Appearance, 2023-24
- RMAC Honorable Mention, Maggie Phipps, 2022-23
Traci Nemechek joined Coach Thompson’s staff in 2022 with 40 years of coaching experience at the collegiate, high school and club levels, as well as 28 years of teaching experience.
Before CCU, she served as the Varsity Assistant Coach at Highlands Ranch High School for 7 years. She played a pivotal role in the teams’ success including a 157-28 record (.849 winning percentage), one state runner up, two Final Fours, three Great 8’s, and one Sweet 16 appearance, as well as 3 Continental league championships. Additionally, she has helped 20 Ranch players attain collegiate basketball scholarships.
Coach Chek coached with Colorado Basketball Club (CBC) for four years helping high school basketball players improve and pursue their goal of playing at the collegiate level. Historically, CBC has traditionally been one of the top girl’s club programs in the state of Colorado.
Prior to coaching at Highlands Ranch High School, Coach Chek was the head coach at Dakota Ridge High School for 11 years. She rebuilt the program to include: one Final Four, two Great 8’s, and five Sweet 16 appearances, and 6 straight Jeffco league championships. She had a 177-92 overall record (.658 winning percentage) and 106-32 Jeffco conference record (.768 winning percentage). She was instrumental in assisting 13 Dakota Ridge players attain collegiate scholarships, including 3 players recruited by Coach Thompson while at CSU-Pueblo.
While at Dakota Ridge, Coach Chek has received multiple coaching awards and honors as a result of her teams’ success including: three “Jeffco Girls Basketball Coach of the Year,” five “Dakota Ridge Female Athletics Coach of the Year,” “Jeffco Coach of the Year for Female Athletics” “5A Girls Basketball Coach of the Year,” “The Show'' All-Star Coach (Colorado High School Coaches Association), All-Star Coach (Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports). Plus, she has been a Guest Basketball Clinician at the Colorado High School Coaches Association, Monument Valley High School (AZ), and worked as a coach at Bobby Kelsey’s “Get Your Butt in the Gym” basketball clinic.
Prior to returning to Colorado to teach and coach high school basketball, Traci was an assistant basketball coach at The University of Southern California for 3 years and the Director of Basketball Operations (graduate assistant) at the University of Arizona for 2 years while pursuing her master’s degree in Native American Studies.
Presently, Coach Chek continues to teach full-time at Dakota Ridge High School and is an adjunct Criminal Justice professor at Arapahoe Community College. She loves teaching U.S. History and dual-credit Introduction to Criminal Justice and Criminology classes. She is planning to retire from teaching in the next few years. “I’m excited to continue to be a servant leader and help build a championship basketball program with Coach Thompson at CCU.”
