LONDON — After six years as head coach of the South Laurel Lady Cardinal basketball program, Chris Souder has decided to step down and take over a job he held before coming to South Laurel — the girls’ basketball head coach job at Mercer County, where he guided the Lady Titans to two state championships.
Souder built the Lady Cardinal program into one of the best in the state, posting a 136-63 record while garnering four 50th District titles, and two 13th Region titles. His teams posted an 11-4 mark during 13th Region Tournament play with two trips to the Sweet 16 while posting a 1-1 mark.
Souder’s best team turned out to be the 2019-20 version of the Lady Cardinals, who played one of the toughest schedules in the state while posting a 27-6 mark.
South Laurel cruised to the 50th District and 13th Region championships while facing off against top ranked, and nationally ranked Sacred Heart in the first round of the Sweet 16.
The Lady Cardinals knocked off the Valkyries, 58-57, and looked to be the favorite to capture the state championship, but their run ended just minutes later after their win when COVID-19 cancelled the remainder of the tournament.
South Laurel captured the 13th Region championship the following year while posting a 20-11 mark but lost to Franklin County in first round action.
Souder guided the Lady Cardinals to the 13th Region title game with hopes of three-peating during the 2021-22 season, but fell short with a 43-41 loss to Corbin while finishing with a 24-9 record.
Souder led South Laurel to an appearance in the 13th Region semifinals the past two seasons while going 19-15, and 20-14, respectively.
