Central Christian College of the Bible and Athletic Director Jack Defreitas are pleased to announce the hiring of Reggie Chapple as Women's Basketball Head Coach, effective immediately.

Chapple most recently served as the head women's basketball coach at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He has also served as the head women's coach at Trinity Christian College in Chicago, and the University of Valley Forge (Pa.). Prior to UVF, he was an assistant athletic director and assistant men's basketball coach at Lancaster Bible College (Pa.).

"Reggie is an outstanding addition to our staff," Defreitas said. "He has not only has a lot of experience at the NCCAA D-II level, his teams have grown and excelled everywhere he's been. More importantly, it was evident in the interview process that he is invested in the lives of student-athletes and desires to help them grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. It is an exciting time for CCCB women's basketball."

At Valley Forge, a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division II, he took a struggling program and produced three winning seasons with a 56-39 overall record. In addition, he led the Lady Patriots to two NCCAA Division II National Tournaments with back-to-back East Region championship titles in 2011 and 2012. 

In 2009-10, Chapple's first season at Valley Forge, he was named NCCAA Division II East Region and National Coach of the Year after the Lady Patriots improved their win total by 10 games with a 16-10 mark. The ensuing season his team went 22-12 with a fourth-place finish at the national tournament, followed by an 18-17 record and a fifth-place national tournament finish in 2011-12.

Chapple coached at Trinity Christian College, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II program, from 2012-2015, helping the Trolls double their win total each season. They won three games in 2012-13, seven in 2013-14, and 14 in 2014-15. He also coached two all-region players and several NAIA scholar athletes.

"As I lead the program into the future, I want to begin establishing that family mentality that helps teams become successful," Chapple said. "Our goal is to strive for excellence both on and off the court. That will require hard work, dedication and desire to continue to improve on a daily basis. I look forward to recruiting student-athletes that will help us reach that goal while furthering the mission of the athletics department and the college community as a whole."

The Central Christian women have had some success of their own in the past six years. After going the first 17 years without a winning season, the Saints posted five straight from 2011-2016 with no fewer than 17 wins during that span. They played for the NCCAA Division II title in 2015 and made five straight region title game appearances before that streak ended in 2017.

Chapple has expectations of winning, but plans to do it the right way.

"The mission of the college is to raise up servant leaders," he said. "This has been on my heart for years by using athletics as a tool to help guide student athletes. As a coach, I want to help each person achieve success on and off the court, helping them understand the higher purpose and calling in their lives.

"I believe I will be surrounded by like-minded professors, coaches and other staff members who all see the importance in the mission. It is a blessing to be here and I am extremely excited to combine my passion with my profession as I continue to pursue God's purpose for my life."

As a student-athlete, Chapple played on the men's basketball team at Valley Forge Christian from 2002-04 after competing at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt., for two seasons. At Valley Forge he surpassed the 1,000 point career scoring mark, averaging 20.3 points per game for the Patriots, and earning NCCAA Division II All-American honors.

Chapple, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, graduated from Valley Forge in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He earned a Master of Science in Sports Management from Southern New Hampshire University in 2013.

Chapple will take over coaching responsibilities immediately. He and his wife, along with their five children, will make the transtion to Moberly in June.