Class 6A team hires four-time state champion to lead girls basketball program

A Class 6A program will now be led by one of the winningest coaches in Alabama high school history.

Legendary Cold Springs coach Tammy West was officially approved as the next girls basketball coach at Cullman High School on Monday, taking a new position after 33 seasons as the head coach at Cold Springs.

Her 33 seasons as the head coach of the Class 2A program saw her amass a monstrous 754-249 record, leading Cold Springs to state titles in 1999, 2008, 2009 and 2019.

“I’m incredibly excited and honored for the opportunity to be the next coach of the Cullman High School girls’ basketball team,” West said in a release. “I’m looking forward to building upon an already incredible foundation and leading this program into an exciting new era of girls basketball.”

According to the AHSAA record book, the 2022 Cullman County Sports Hall of Fame inductee is one of just nine girls basketball coaches in the state of Alabama to surpass 750 career victories.

She totaled 25 area championships at Cold Springs and led eight of her teams to the AHSAA Final Four.

West’s 2024-25 Cold Springs squad went 19-9 and won the Class 2A, Area 11 title, falling to eventual state runner-up Decatur Heritage in the Northwest Regional final.

“We are excited to add a legendary coach like Tammy West to the Cullman Bearcat family,” Cullman City School superintendent Kyle Kallhoff said. “I look forward to the impact she will have on our school and basketball program, but most importantly, our student-athletes.”