BILLINGS – The Montana Coaches Association on Monday announced its 2026 Hall of Fame class consisting of five new inductees.
This year’s inductees are Steve Stosich, Pat Dryden, Eli Field, Dennis Normand and Jim O’Neil. The induction ceremony will be July 30 as part of the 2026 MCA awards ceremony and coaches clinic at C.M. Russell High School in Great Falls.
Following is biographical information for each coach with information provided by the MCA:
Steve Stosich – Has served in Butte for 53 years with Butte Central and Butte High as beneficiaries of his dedication (five years at Butte Central and 48, so far, at Butte High.) He was the head wrestling coach for four years at Butte Central while also assisting in football and track and field. In 14 years as a football assistant, he served under coaches Bob Petrino, Ron “Swede” Kenison, Bob Beers and Jon McElroy; in wrestling he spent 17 years coaching under Jim Street; and for 24 years he assisted in track and field under Fred Bull and Charlie Merrifield. While assisting at Butte Central, he helped the Maroons bring home five divisional titles and three state trophies on the gridiron along with two runner-up track and field trophies.
At Butte High, he assisted in two state football championships and 13 state wrestling titles, and in track he coached four individual state champs. Stosich took over the Butte High softball program in 2005 and won a state championship in 2011 and captured four third-place trophies. He currently assists his son, Ryan, in coaching the Bulldog softball team.
Stosich is a 40-year member of the MCA with five coach-of-the-year nominations winning the coveted award one.
Pat Dryden – Has coaches for 40 years with 32 of those in Montana. He spent two years at Havre, two at Missoula Hellgate and 28 (and counting) at Whitefish, where for 25 years he has led the girls’ tennis program.
Dryden’s teams have won 10 conference championships and nine state trophies – three championships, three second-place finishes and three third-places. Dryden is a six-time MCA Coach of the Year nominee, having won the honor three times. He was a National High School Athletic Coaches Association tennis coach-of-the-year finalist in 2022 and has been a member of the MCA for 25 years.
Eli Field – Has coached for 25 years, all at Frenchtown. For the past 21 years he has led the softball program to a 441-98 record with eight state championships and 12 conference titles. A 20-year member of the Montana Coaches Association, Field has been named MCA softball coach of the year four times and has been nominated for the honor 14 times. He was a 2023 NHSACA softball coach of the year nominee.
Field has coached in several all-star games and was the 2024 tournament director for the MHSA state baseball tournament.
Dennis Normand – Has invested 38 years in the coaching profession, spending 35 of those years at Frenchtown where for 24 years he served as head girls’ and assistant boys’ track coach, as well as head cross country coach. He is currently the head coach for the Drummond cross country program.
During his Frenchtown tenure, Normand led the girls’ track team to a state championship, five division titles and 14 district crowns. In cross country, his teams notched three state championships.
Normand is a 41-year MCA member, has been named coach of the year four times and nominated 20 times.
Jim O’Neil – Has been a Laurel High School coach and member of the MCA for 38 years. In his early years, O’Neil served as an assistant, helping the Locomotives win two football state titles and a second-place finish in track.
In 2017, he took the reins as head golf coach for both boys’ and girls’ teams and won 10 combined state championships. O’Neil is a 10-time MCA golf coach of the year and has been nominated 13 times. He was a NHSACA golf coach of the year finalist in 2023.
