McBride named TRC Raider of the Year

Missouri Sports Hall of Famer and Three Rivers College volleyball alumna Francie Spurgin McBride has been chosen as the 2025 Raider of the Year. She will be honored at the 2025 Alumni Reunion on Feb. 1 at the Libla Family Sports Complex.

“Three Rivers is honored when its student-athletes empower their communities and help the next generation succeed,” TRC President Dr. Wesley Payne said. “Francie is an excellent example of what it means to be a Raider, and we are proud to recognize her as the 2025 Raider of the Year.”

The Raider of the Year Award is presented to a former Three Rivers athlete who has succeeded beyond their sport and time at Three Rivers. Nominees remain involved in athletics in their respective careers or volunteer efforts and are well-respected amongst their peers and communities.

“Coaching has been the most rewarding job I could have chosen,” McBride said. “I love what I do because I get to watch young girls grow into strong, responsible, confident, self-sufficient women. The greatest rewards are when your kids come back to you and thank you for instilling in them the work ethic and values to be successful in life.”

McBride graduated from Eminence High School in 1992, where she helped the 1991 team reach the state quarterfinals. She then played volleyball for two years at Three Rivers before transferring to Evangel University.

After college, McBride worked at Eminence as an assistant volleyball coach. Soon she received a phone call from Winona superintendent Mike Green, an Eminence rival 11 miles south.

“Something they sold me on was really motivating — girls willing to work and show dedication at such a young age,” McBride said. “I was able to build from the ground up with full community support, which was vital to our success.”

Winona finished 18-8 in her second season, won the district tournament in her third, and reached the final four the following year.

McBride won five Class 1 state championships at Winona, including three in a row from 2012-14. The Wildcats reached 14 final fours and finished second four times, third twice, and fourth three times.

Winona’s formula was a combination of solid fundamentals, a Junior Olympic program, a summer league, and an intense fitness program that included timed mile runs down a dirt road and back.

“Whenever I drive down a dirt road now, I get a little nauseous,” 2013 graduate Nola McAfee joked.

Now the head coach at Branson High School, McBride recently completed her fifth season at the southwest Missouri school. In 2020, Branson won its first district championship since 1992 and reached the state quarterfinals.

McBride’s husband, Pete, is the Branson High School assistant athletic director, head basketball coach, and weights coach. He played baseball at Three Rivers from 1991-93. Their son Trent helped Eminence win a state championship in 2018 and a national championship at Mission University in 2022. He is currently a pilot living and working in Kirksville. Their daughter Joree attends Branson High School and is a member of the volleyball and track and field teams.

McBride was inducted to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2020, was named the National Federation Midwest Sectional Coach of the Year in 2002-03, the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year five times, and was inducted to the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2017.