OVERLNAD PARK, Kan. – Former Johnson County Community College baseball coach Kent Shelley and cross country/track coach Mike Bloemker, and current women's head soccer coach Jim Schwab were recognized as recipients of the Coaches Legacy Award presented by Nufabrx.
All honorees were recognized at a special luncheon on Tuesday, June 17, in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Hilton Charlotte University Place Hotel which proceeded with the 2025 NJCAA Hall of Fame and Awards events later in the day.
The Coaches Legacy Award was introduced this year to recognize the all-time winningest coaches in NJCAA history. This is the first time in the near 90-year history of the NJCAA that coaches have been recognized in such a fashion by the Association. Nearly 200 coaches across 28 different sports were nominated by the member colleges at which they coached.
"Being able to recognize our coaches, past and present, is a wonderful thing for the NJCAA, our member institutions, the coaches, and their families," said Dr. Christopher Parker, NJCAA President and CEO.
Shelley eclipsed the 1,000-win qualification standard in baseball to earn recognition. Bloemker led JCCC women's cross country and half marathon teams to five national championships and Schwab surpassed the 300-win standard in women's soccer.
Kent Shelley
Shelley retired following the 2020 season atter serving 33 years as the Cavaliers' skipper. He amassed an impressive 1075-603-1 mark, led four teams to Eastern Sub-Regional championships, four squads won NJCAA Region 6 titles, three East Jayhawk Conference titles and two NJCAA World Series appearances.
Highly regarded by his coaching peers and his success at JCCC earned him national recognition. In 2007 he was inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, just the second from the Kansas Jayhawk Conference. In January 2013, Shelley earned baseball's highest honor when he was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame. That same year he joined the JCCC Athletics Hall of Fame, and in December 2015, he was inducted into the Ban Johnson League Hall of Fame.
Shelley's players also saw unbelievable success. He coached 11 NJCAA All-Americans, two preseason All-Americans, one World Series All-Tournament selection, six USA Junior College All-Stars, 34 All-Region VI performers, 176 All-East Jayhawk Conference selections, two conference MVPs, two conference freshmen of the year, one conference pitcher of the year, one Rawlings Gold Glove recipient and two Rawlings Big Stick award winners. Additionally, 44 of his former players were drafted or signed as free agents by Major League Baseball since he took over as head coach in 1987. In August of 2002, power hitter Kit Pellow became the first former Johnson County player to make it to the Major League level, playing for the Kansas City Royals. Two years later, Pellow was the opening day starter in left field for the Colorado Rockies.
Mike Bloemker
Mike Bloemker served 19 as head cross country coach at Johnson County Community College, and nine overseeing the track and field programs.
During his tenure Bloemker led the Cavaliers to five national championships (1 cross country, 4 half marathon), 13 national runner-up finishes, while producing 29 East Jayhawk Conference titles and 13 Region VI titles. Under his direction, the women's cross country and track and field program had 27 top 10 national finishes, and the men, 21.
Under his watchful eye, Cavalier cross country and half marathon runners have earned 62 All-American citations, two individual national champions, three Region VI champions and 10 East Jayhawk Conference champions. Additionally, an individual from the JCCC women's team won eight of 19 individual conference titles, while a male JCCC competitor has been crowned champion three times over that span.
In his nine years overseeing the track and field program, Bloemker has directed individuals to 29 NJCAA All-America performances, including five national champions, and 195 total NJCAA Coaches All-America certificates (104 indoor, 91 outdoor), as well as 173 conference event championships, 50 region event championships, 35 school record performances, 12 conference meet records and 30 stadium records. On the national level, Bloemker has led Johnson County to 11 top-15 NJCAA finishes, including top 10 finishes by the Lady Cavaliers at indoor and outdoor nationals in 2012 and 2013.
In 2011-12, his women's programs experienced a banner year that rivals any other in JCCC history. The women's swept the Region VI cross country, indoor track and outdoor track championship for the first time in the history of the program and joined Barton Community College and Cowley College as the only programs to stake that claim. Additionally, both the women's and men's programs completed a conference triple crown. Equally impressive were the 51 NJCAA All-America honors collected by JCCC athletes in cross country and indoor and outdoor track, including six by Ashley Reid, who also was selected the Female of the Meet at both the indoor and outdoor Region VI championships, and JCCC's Female Athlete of the Year. Bloemker's remarkable success did not go unnoticed. He was named the Coach of the Meet at both the indoor and outdoor championships and later was selected the NJCAA Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year by the NJCAA Track and Field Coaches Association.
Two years later, the women's program captured its second Region VI triple crown to join Barton as the only other program in Region VI history to have won multiple triple crowns. Bloemker was also selected the Region VI Women's Coach of the Year in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
Bloemker was also named the NJCAA Region VI Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1999 and again in 2004. In 2000 he was selected the NJCAA and Coaches Association Coach of the Year after his teams were honored as National Champions for the best combined program in the country, finishing first and third.
There were many memorable appearances by Cavalier teams at the NJCAA cross country meets, including a national champion by the women in 2000, and five runner-up finishes, three by the women and two by the men. In 2000, the combined finishes of the two programs earned them the Pepsi Cup Championship, and in 2002 they combined to win it a second time.
In half marathon national championships, Bloemker has won four national championships, the second most in the country, leading his women's teams to half marathon national titles in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008. The other eight championships his team has competed, JCCC has placed in the top 10, including runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2007. While his men's teams have not won a title, they finished runner-up in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, and placed third in two championships.
Jim Schwab
When it comes to building a foundation for success, the Lady Cavaliers have a master architect in head coach Jim Schwab. Player or coach, indoor or outdoor, professional, amateur or collegiate – whatever the realm, the bottom line is Jim Schwab is winning. Entering his 27th season in the fall of 2025, he only coach in the program's history, Schwab won his 200th game in 2010, and his 250th in 2014, topped the 300-win plateau in 2017 and garnered No. 350 in 2022. His 387 career victories are the most of any coach in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) among active coaches and second-most all-time in the NJCAA. Schwab has led Johnson County to 24 double-digit win seasons, and he has won 17 or more games 13 times. His Lady Cavaliers have appeared in the NJCAA Women's Soccer Preseason Poll in 17 preseason polls in the programs 26-year history (65%), including a No. 2 preseason ranking in 2010. Overall, his program has appeared in 127 of 247 polls over the last 26 years (51%).
Under his tutelage, JCCC has captured 10 Region 6 titles, second most of any program in the region, and his teams have made it the final four in the region playoffs in 22 of 26 years. He also has won seven Kansas Jayhawk Conference tiles and two District titles. In 2009, he guided the program to its first NJCAA Tournament appearance, finishing runner-up. JCCC also tied its season wins mark with 19, while establishing a record for shutouts with 18. In 2023 he again led JCCC to a runner-up finish at the NJCAA D-II National Tournament after receiving an at-large bid to compete in the championship. Last year Johnson County matched its season record of 18 shutouts, while setting a new NJCAA D-II record with 15 consecutively. Schwab's squad would win conference, region and district titles on their way to another national runner-up finish with a 19-1-4 mark.
Honors have also come Schwab's way. Ten times he has earned the Region 6 Coach of the Year, and in 2009 he garnered the NJCAA District B Coach of the Year honor. In 2017, he was named the Kansas Jayhawk Conference East Division Coach of the Year for the first time and last year received the honor for a second time.
Additionally, he along with his staff of assistant coaches Alex Hagen, Madison Hagen and athletic trainer Sarah Plowman have been selected the United Soccer Coaches Central Region Staff of the Year each of the last two seasons, and last year they were named the NJCAA D-II Coaching Staff of the Year by United Soccer Coaches, a first in program history.
Schwab's players have also seen unbelievable success. In 26 seasons as women's head coach, he has coached 20 NJCAA All-Americans, seven United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, seven NJCAA All-Tournament performers, 113 NJCAA All-Region VI performers, four Region VI Players of the Year recipients and 137 All-Kansas Jayhawk Conference performers, including nine in 2015, 2017 and 2023, eight in 2009 and 2024 and seven in 2010 and 2014. In the classroom, 115 individuals have earned NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete awards, and 41 have posted 4.0 grade point average including a record eight in 2024-25. In 2019, defender Georgia Vernardakis became the first JCCC female athlete to earn Google Cloud Academic All-America® College Division At-Large as named by College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), and he has produced eight CSC Academic All-District® selections, five in 2024-25.
Additionally, Schwab has seen 88 of his athletes continue their athletic careers at the four-year level: seven at NCAA Division I, 27 at NCAA Division II, one at NJCAA Division III and 53 at the NAIA level.