National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) men’s handball coach Bryan Mathews has been named the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) Coach of the Month for May, earning a Ksh100,000 cash prize and a personalized trophy.
Mathews led NCPB to a historic unbeaten run, culminating in defending the Kenya Handball Federation men’s league title without losing a single match.
Major victories in the month of May for the tactician included a thrilling 33-28 win over fierce rivals Equity Bank at Nyayo National Stadium, as well as commanding wins against Ulinzi (35-30), Wakanda (42-19), and Mountain Prime (49-8).
During the award ceremony, Japheth Akhulia, the Head of Marketing for the award’s sponsors, Betika, praised the competitiveness of the league and emphasized the importance of recognizing coaches’ contributions to sports development in Kenya.
“The level of competitiveness we have seen, being our third winner, is testament that there has been a major gap in efforts to recognize the contribution of our team coaches,” he said.
Other nominees included Kakamega Homeboyz coach Francis Baraza, who finished second for the second consecutive month after leading his football team to four consecutive wins in the FKF Premier League. Baraza’s team secured notable victories over Posta Rangers, Mathare United, Kenya Police, and Kariobangi Sharks.
In third place was DCI women’s volleyball coach Patrick Sang, credited with guiding his team to their first-ever Kenya Volleyball Federation Women’s National League final.
Sang’s team recently defeated Kenya Prisons twice in the semifinals and overcame Post Bank in the quarterfinals.
SJAK President James Waindi commended all nominees for their hard work and reiterated the association’s commitment to spotlighting outstanding coaching performances across Kenya’s sporting disciplines.
