Summary
Former Emery High School basketball coach Todd Jeffs is right where he belongs, officially among the best. Jeffs was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Monday night as part of a 10-member class at a distinguished ceremony at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. The induction ceremony was the centerpiece of a night-long celebration for the newest Hall of Fame class.
Former Emery High School basketball coach Todd Jeffs is right where he belongs, officially among the best.
Jeffs was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Monday night as part of a 10-member class at a distinguished ceremony at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. The induction ceremony was the centerpiece of a night-long celebration for the newest Hall of Fame class.
A key instrument in the Emery High School basketball tradition, Jeffs contributed 39 seasons to the program as a player, assistant coach and head coach. During his 32-year tenure as head coach, he won two state championships across multiple classifications. Advancing to the final four on 13 separate occasions, he became just the sixth high school coach in Utah to win 500 games with one school, ending his career with a 515-245 record.
“To say I have enjoyed my time coaching and playing at Emery would be a huge understatement,” said Jeffs. “There have been great times when I have felt like I have all the answers. There have been times when I have felt totally lost, pretty much like life. Overall, the good times have been far greater and more abundant than the bad times. Basketball has given me that chance to learn about people and life through those experiences.”
In 1989, Jeffs and the Spartans earned a thrilling 84-83 State Championship victory in one of the most iconic games in Utah High School sports history. Trailing by two points in the final seconds, Steven Gordon banked a 45-foot, three-point shot at the buzzer. The Spartans, with future NBA center Shawn Bradley, would win another title the following season.
“Playing for Todd is still some of my fondest memories,” said Gordon, now Emery High School’s principal. “As a coach, he got the most out of his players. If you didn’t play hard, you didn’t play. I learned everything I used when coaching basketball and baseball from Coach Jeffs.”
Jeffs was a coach, teacher, and athletic director at Emery for 37 years before retiring in 2022.
Since retiring from coaching and education, Jeffs has remained involved in the community. He and his wife, Donn, own Castle Ridge Behavioral Health and The Ridge Fitness Center.
Since its inception in 1967, the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation (USHOFF) has been Utah’s premier sports organization, dedicated to preserving Utah’s sports heritage and history at the highest level. For more information on the Utah Sports Hall of Fame and the class of 2025, visit utahsportshalloffame.org.