Even though he’s the new Montgomery County boys basketball coach for the 2025-26 season, Dustin Figg is no stranger to head coaching experience.

A decade ago, he headed the Keytesville boys program for five seasons. He also worked on the coaching staff at Winston High School.

Now, Figg is looking to help the Wildcats continue to be a successful program. MCHS finished with winning records in each of the last six years, including a 28-2 record this past season.

“We’re trying to stay in the same realm as last year, trying to work on being competitive, being an active team and staying defensive minded,” Figg said.

Figg worked as assistant at MCHS for the last three years before being hired on May 20 to replace Scott Kroeger, who accepted the head coaching position at St. Charles West after seven years as head coach. He was interviewed for the head coaching job on May 19.

Figg said he learned how to be a defensive-minded coach while working under Kroeger. Last year, the Wildcats allowed 40 points per game.

“He really emphasized defense and that was something I kind of didn’t really focus on a lot in my early years,” Figg said. “Now, it’s really a focus of mine. I want to implement (the players) on staying active on the defensive end.”

Figg will take over a MCHS team that lost seven players to graduation, including all-state players Clayton Parker and Andrew Moore. But it returns several players, including seniors Chase Queathem, Adrian Combs, Colby Ellis, Cooper Sellenriek and Seth Walton and freshman Jackson Benney.

“I think this new senior group that’s kind of been around behind the shadows is hungry to try to prove that it’s not as strong and talented (as the last senior class), but can be equally good,” Figg said. “Chase Queathem has been a piece in the last four years in the program and he didn’t want to fall off wins or losses wise, so he’s been a big leader. Hopefully, he’ll be able to be like that throughout the year.”

In the 2021-2022 season, Figg worked as coach of the Montgomery County Middle School team. Queathem, Combs, Ellis, Sellenriek and Walton played on the eighth-grade team that year.

“I actually started with this group in middle school when they were in eighth grade, so it’s been nice to see how they have improved over the past four years,” Figg said.

Figg became an assistant on the high school squad the following year. In his second year as assistant, the Wildcats made their first Class 3 Show-Me Showdown appearance since 1974 and placed fourth.

Combs said he was thrilled when he found out that Figg was taking over head coaching duties.

“I always loved Coach Figg since he came in,” Combs said. “He’s always welcoming to us. He makes it fun to play for him.”

The Wildcats have been holding workouts since late May. Figg said offense has been a key focus for his team since the Wildcats graduated 88 percent of their scoring from last year.

“What we’re trying to do is work on our shots and be better at shooting around the basket with contact because we’re not very big,” Figg said.

Figg graduated from Hale High School in 2006. He scored 946 points during his basketball career and earned all-state honors in the shot put in his senior year. He also graduated from the University of Central Missouri.

Figg coached Keytesville from 2013-2018. He coached the Tigers to 18 victories in the 2016-17 season. In 2018-19, he was an assistant of a Winston boys basketball team that went 26-1 and lost in the Class 1 state quarterfinals.

Figg said he’s already looking forward to the start of the boys basketball season in November.

“Basketball is an exciting time for me,” said Figg, who works as an at-risk teacher at MCHS and coaches the Montgomery County Middle School softball team in the fall season. “That’s my sport. But I also like to encourage these kids to be multi-sport athletes. So I really would like for them to focus on football and cross country and whatever they’re involved in because they make them be better athletes.”