Nothing Like Going Home

Spencer leaves Moore County after building a winner – and a standard

11:39 a.m. March 20, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

When Chad Spencer talks about Moore County, he does not start with trophies.

He starts with the drive.

Back in 2021, Spencer was living in Pleasant Grove, about 15 to 20 minutes from Lynchburg, and was not sure he wanted to jump back into the daily grind of high school coaching after returning from Ole Miss. Then he kept hearing the same thing: Moore County had players coming, especially from the middle school, and the job felt like the right fit at the right time.

So he applied – the first head coaching job he had ever formally pursued.

Five seasons later, he leaves with far more than a record.

Spencer is stepping down as Raiderettes head coach and returning to his alma mater, Shelbyville. He told his team on Wednesday morning. In five seasons, he led Moore County to two state tournament appearances, helped the Raiderettes finish as the Class 1A state runner-up in 2023-24, and was named the BCAT Pat Summitt Coach of the Year. Moore County finished 17-11 this season and lost in the West Region semifinal.

That is the record.

The real measure is what he leaves behind.

A Community That Showed Up

“When they named me the head coach, we got started immediately,” Spencer said, reflecting on his five years in Lynchburg.

He inherited a talented group, won a district title in his first season, and quickly learned what girls' basketball means in Moore County.

He also learned Moore County does not treat basketball like background noise.

The gyms were full. The town paid attention. People stopped him in stores. Pregame meals were sometimes catered, with tablecloths and place settings. Spencer said the players felt that support.

“The girls knew that the community cared about them,” he said. “They didn’t want to let them down.”

That bond between team and town may be the clearest thread of Spencer’s time at Moore County.

The Moments That Stayed

Yes, there were the headline moments – the state trips, the runner-up finish, the postseason awards. But when Spencer talked about what he would remember most, he did not start with the biggest stage.

He started with the moments that stayed with him. "We've got so many highlights," he said.

There was the buzzer-beating win over Cornersville, when a late inbounds play worked for Katy Fletcher, and fans poured onto the floor. There was Ellie Graham, hitting three free throws – down two with no time left – to beat Huntland. There was the overtime state tournament win over Clay County, when Madison Dingler recognized the moment and called a backdoor action that helped swing the game. There was Greenfield, when Moore County changed defenses in the second half and smothered the Lady Jackets.

There was also a roster, year after year, of what Spencer called “bulldog girls.”

That was how he saw the program.

When It Clicked

Spencer said the state runner-up group truly took off when Moore County beat Tullahoma in January 2024.

Some questioned why Moore County should schedule bigger schools. Spencer never saw it that way. Tullahoma was nearby, the trip made sense for families, and the challenge mattered. When the Raiderettes won that game, he said, something changed.

“It was a confidence boost for them,” Spencer said. “Then the girls just started snowballing in a positive direction.”

When Spencer talked about those teams, one thing kept coming up.

Effort.

“I didn’t have to coach effort,” Spencer said. “Those kids gave everything they got when they got out there.”

That is not a small thing for a coach to say after five seasons.

The Standard

Spencer also made clear he does not view the success as his alone.

He credited longtime assistant Lenae McGee, who was with him throughout his Moore County tenure, and assistant Kim Dye, who joined him the last two seasons. He praised both as valuable pieces of the program and as strong role models for the players.

He said the foundation is still there.

“These girls, we have a family atmosphere,” Spencer said, adding that the next coach will inherit a program with a proven formula and more help on the way from the middle school ranks.

That may last longest.

He won games, certainly. He helped the Raiderettes reach a level the program had chased. But he also reinforced what the program should expect of itself — to work, to take on bigger schools, to matter in March, and to carry Moore County girls basketball with toughness and pride.

Going Home

Now Spencer is heading back to the place that first shaped him.

A Bedford County native, he graduated from Shelbyville Central High School in 1991, later attended Motlow College and Middle Tennessee State University, and began his coaching career under legendary coach Rick Insell. He later coached at Harris Middle School, Liberty Middle School, and Cascade, and also worked at Ole Miss under Matt Insell in scouting and film breakdown.

For Spencer, the move is not just another stop. It is a return to the people and program that helped make him.

He spoke emotionally about the influence of Rick Insell and the Insell family, his desire to make his hometown proud, and the chance for him and his wife, Scarlet, to pour into that community together.

“Sometimes there’s nothing like going home,” Spencer said.

But that is only half the story.

Going home is what comes next for Spencer. What came before it – what happened here – is that he took over a proud small-school program, won big, deepened belief, and left it in position to keep going.

Moore County is losing a coach.

It is keeping the standard he helped harden.