Tom Cole
Varsity Head Coach
Tom Cole is in his 19th season as Lady Panthers varsity head coach. South Medford is recognized as a perennial state and nationally recognized program, earning South Medford Lady Panthers basketball the distinction as a Nike Elite High School program.
Prior to Cole’s arrival, the Lady Panthers had gone 1 and 48. Within five years, the program won its first state championship, finished nationally ranked and became the only team in Oregon large-school classification history to finish a perfect 30 and 0.
Coach Cole’s record over 18 seasons is 395 and 105, which includes winning four state titles, while also leading the Lady Panthers to the final eight state championship tournament in 15 of the past 16 seasons. The Lady Panthers have accomplished 12 undefeated Southwest Conference championships with a conference record of 196 and 30.
Cole was most recently named 2024 Section 8 National coach of the year by the National Federation of High Schools. He has been SWC Coach of the year 11 times, OSAA coach of the year in 2012 and 2024 and Oregon Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2020 and 2024.
The South Medford Lady Panthers have celebrated 40 student athletes moving forward with college scholarships during his tenure, with many of them at the highest NCAA levels.
Coach Cole’s true passion is the empowerment work of Kids Unlimited, a nonprofit youth development organization he helped to start nearly 28 years ago. Kids Unlimited today provides more than 1,200 students, many from vulnerable communities, with preschool, charter school, afterschool and summer programs.
Ted Curtis
JV Coach
Coach Ted has been a dedicated coach and mentor to kids for over 19 years coaching AAU and high school teams for the South Medford High School girls’ basketball program. He’s coached Frosh, JV2 and JV at the high school level for 15 years.
Ted’s commitment to kids has made a huge impact on the success of the program at all levels. Ted continues to coach at the AAU and development levels for younger kids. Ted’s imprint on the program has been immeasurable over decades of coaching Panthers teams during which he has given both time and financial resources to ensure kids have no barriers to participation. Ted’s teams are always competitive, and he has provided a strong foundation for fundamentals for our younger teams.
Ted is the owner of Curtius Plumbing, and both have been generous contributors to Panthers sports for nearly two decades.
Yaremi Mejia
Varsity Assistant Coach
Yaremi Mejia is in her third season as assistant coach with her alma mater, South Medford High School’s Lady Panthers.
Yaremi previously assisted the Lady Panthers basketball team in the 2021 season, when South Medford finished the season undefeated and won a state championship.
Yaremi was a two-time All State point guard at South Medford, helping South win its first state championship in 2012, finishing a perfect 30-0 season and earning South its first top-10 national ranking. Yaremi became the first Latina in Oregon history to receive a Division I basketball scholarship, playing at Portland State University before transferring to Southern Oregon University in her senior season, where she was recognized with All-American honors.
She completed her master’s degree at Eastern New Mexico University, where she also was an assistant coach at the NCAA Division II level. Yaremi is the afterschool program manager at Kids Unlimited Academy, working with students in grades K-5. Yaremi also is a member of the Rogue Valley Basketball Officials Association.