WORDEN — Ryan Bouchard is the new head girls basketball coach at Huntley Project. Bouchard's hiring was unanimously approved during a Tuesday morning meeting of the Huntley Project School Board.
Bouchard replaces Mandy Morales, who was not retained when, according to a school statement on Oct. 1, she did not meet a Sept. 9 contract renewal deadline. Morales disputed this in an interview with MTN Sports, saying she did not receive notice of the deadline.
According to athletic director Tim Kaczmarek, Bouchard has been an assistant boys basketball coach at Huntley Project 2021, and is currently an assistant track and field coach for the Red Devils. Previously, he was both an assistant girls basketball coach and head track coach at Melstone.
Bouchard's sons Noah and Isaiah both starred on the basketball court at Huntley Project. Noah Bouchard is currently on the men's track and field team at the University of Colorado.
Kaczmarek said Huntley Project's begins practice for the 2024-25 season on Nov. 21.
On Sept. 30, Huntley Project posted an opening for the high school head girls basketball position, and Morales indicated to MTN Sports at the time that she would reapply for the job.
Morales works as a behavioral specialist at Huntley Project through the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch. She served as head coach for the past three seasons, guiding the team to three consecutive Southern B divisional championships and a third-place finish at the Class B girls state basketball tournament in 2024.
As a standout player, Morales began her high school career at Project but transferred to Billings West where she helped the Golden Bears win two Class AA state titles. She signed to play at Arizona State but matriculated to the University of Montana, where she scored 1,959 points — second-most in program history — under coach Robin Selvig from 2005-09.
