Valencia County schools face major coaching changes this offseason

Valencia County schools are heading into the offseason with several coaching chairs empty at once, and the timing matters because summer workouts, camps and team identity are being set now. Los Lunas High School needs new leadership in boys basketball and powerlifting, Belen High School is searching for a baseball coach, and Valencia High School is trying to rebuild its dance program before fall schedules harden.

At Los Lunas, boys basketball coach Pablo Gabaldon resigned for “personal well-being and my health,” he said, after notifying athletic director Bill Hays on Monday, June 8. Cameron Tafoya will oversee the rest of summer workouts and tournaments for the Tigers, giving the program at least a temporary handoff as players work through offseason preparation. Gabaldon finished two seasons with a 16-38 record, including a 10-18 mark last season, but he inherited a roster that had lost all five starters, including All-State guard Jalin Holland.

Gabaldon’s departure fits a pattern at Los Lunas, where coaching turnover has been recurring in recent years and multiple spring openings were reported in 2025. That instability reaches beyond wins and losses. It affects whether players have a consistent voice during the months when strength work, open gyms and tournament play usually shape a team’s identity for the following school year.

Belen’s opening is different, but just as consequential. Baseball coach Justin Miller resigned after two seasons to take over at Organ Mountain in Las Cruces, a move he described as a chance to be with family again. Miller is 26, and he said the move brought him back to his “homebase,” where his first coaching job was at Organ Mountain junior varsity and where many relatives still live, including parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. For Belen, the loss comes as summer and fall planning are already underway.

The changes ripple into other programs too. In powerlifting, Los Lunas and Belen drew a large crowd to a March 5 dual meet at Los Lunas High School, where the Tigers’ boys edged Belen 65-64. Local judges, teachers and administrators helped run that meet, a reminder that a coaching vacancy in a smaller sport can affect school operations well beyond the weight room. The 2026 New Mexico Activities Association state championships were scheduled for April 10-11 at the Rio Rancho Events Center, giving any transition added urgency before next season’s training cycle.

Valencia’s dance program carries a similar stake in continuity. The Valencia Dance Team describes itself as a competitive varsity group that performs at rallies, football and basketball games, community events, and regional and national competitions. Los Lunas supporters also showed how visible these decisions can become when they attended the April 14 board meeting to protest the removal of coach Jonelle Thompson-Armijo. Los Lunas Schools named Blake Sabol as the Tigerettes’ replacement on June 5, a quick hire that underscored how hard districts are working to keep student programs from losing momentum.