Melinda Nguyen, who guided Kansas Wesleyan’s flag football program to unprecedented heights during three seasons, has announced her resignation.
She has accepted a Division I head coaching job in a southern state.
Nguyen’s KWU teams won nearly 75 percent of their games (49-17) and were 27-5 against Kansas Conference opponents — four of the losses to Ottawa, the five-time defending winners of the NAIA’s flag football finals. The Coyotes defeated the Braves in 2023.
“She has done a fabulous job,” Athletic Director Miguel Paredes said. “She took a program that was just starting and, in my opinion, turned it into one of the powerhouses in NAIA flag football while competing every year against the defending national champs. She represented the institution very well, not just as far as making (NAIA) nationals, but doing a great job recruiting, as well.”
Nguyen guided KWU to a 15-7 record (8-1 KCAC) during her first season in 2023, the program’s third year of existence.
The 2024 team was the most successful in school history, going 19-4 (11-2 KCAC) and was the first conference team to defeat Ottawa, 18-13 on March 28 in Salina. Nguyen was named KCAC Coach of the Year.
Last spring the Coyotes were 15-6 (8-2 KCAC) and made the program’s first-ever appearance in the NAIA Flag Football Finals A Bracket. They lost to top-seeded Ottawa 26-25 in double overtime in the quarterfinals.
“I’m really proud of the growth of the overall program,” Nguyen said. “I think in the past we were seen as underdogs, a team that really wasn’t feared. We had some talent but were overlooked. Now, I think we’ve made a statement; we’ve made our mark. People are paying attention to us, looking at us like ‘I don’t know if I want to play them anymore.’ I think that’s huge.”
She credits her athletes.
“I think it really comes down to the players who came in,” Nguyen said. “(Quarterback) Chihiro Iwata – I didn’t have to do anything. She’s just an amazing athlete, high IQ, great technically. She’s a real difference-maker. Putting structure around her, building a team around her that could be successful and putting them in the best position to be successful has really helped.
“The seniors last year were really strong leaders. We used their talents to the best of our team’s ability, and I think we took advantage of the different tools that we had and put them in the right places.”
Nguyen is proud of the culture the program has developed.
“The culture when I first got here was just very different,” she said. “Having that foundation and then building that into a program where players are really playing for each other I think made a really big difference. You can see the camaraderie, the friendships, the memories — they’re having fun out there.”
Paredes said he plans to have a new coach in place before Thanksgiving.
Nguyen is optimistic the Coyotes will continue to succeed.
“I would love to see the season all the way through,” she said. “I have a lot of seniors I would love to see graduate, but I’m leaving confident that the stage is set. Everything has been taught. Of course, there’s things that we could polish up, but that’s always the case.
“I’ve told them Kansas Wesleyan is a strong team with or without a head coach. All I do is guide. You have a quarterback who’s the best in the country or best in the world, can call her own plays. Then you have a phenomenal defensive mind (graduate assistant Alexa Mansur) who can support them. I think they’re going to be strong whether I’m here or not.”
Story by Bob Davidson
