Pending school board approval, Northwest will hire Sam Powell as their next head girls’ basketball coach. 

Powell will return to the sidelines this winter for the Wolves after one of the most successful tenures in Iowa high school basketball history.  Powell coached Des Moines East from 2004-2019, leading the Scarlets to five state tournament appearances including a state championship in 2011 and a state runner-up finish in 2010. He was Iowa’s first and only African American coach to lead a team to a state basketball championship. Powell led the Scarlets to 13 metro conference titles, including three undefeated seasons. He had an overall record of 253-88 and was a seven-time CIML Metro conference Coach of the Year winner and the 2011 state Coach of the Year. Powell has coached 14 Division 1 basketball signees. 

He will replace Chris Guess, a recent inductee into the IGCA basketball coaches’ Hall of Fame.