MIHS gym floor and court to be named after legendary coach Pepple

Published 9:50 am Monday, March 16, 2026

Legendary Mercer Island High School (MIHS) boys head basketball coach Ed Pepple had a maximum impact on his players.

In his MIHS gym floor and court naming request, school alumnus Frank Schott wrote about Pepple’s focus on excellence, preparation, attention to detail, goal setting, hard work and teamwork that have remained with his former players.

Following a recommendation from the Mercer Island School District’s Naming Committee and public input at the March 12 board meeting, the school board voted to name the gym floor and court after coach Pepple, according to the school district. Pepple died at the age of 88 on Sept. 14, 2020.

Pepple led the Islanders from 1967-2009, coached four state championship squads and is Washington state’s winningest basketball coach with 952 victories. Pepple tipped off his coaching career in 1958 at Fife High School, coached an All-American game, was league and state coach of the year numerous times, averaged two players advancing into the college ranks for every season, and is a member of three separate Halls of Fame, according to a previous Reporter article. Pepple also founded the Mercer Island Little Dribblers program, which has amassed an estimated 4,000 participants.

In a message to the Reporter, the Pepple family said that it “extends our deepest gratitude and appreciation to the hundreds of Mercer Island basketball alumni and supporters who worked tirelessly toward recognition of coach Ed Pepple’s decades of achievement and service to Mercer Island students and the wider community.”

The family said it sincerely thanks the school board for the prestigious naming honor of Ed Pepple Court, adding: “We will always cherish the memories and relationships created over the many years that we lived on Mercer Island, and no matter where we live now, we are all Islanders for life.”

Mercer Island resident Schott submitted the naming request, following Board Policy 6970 Naming District Facilities, to the board on May 20, 2025. The facility naming process featured a survey to assist the committee in its proposal review.

In Schott’s proposal, which included several nomination letters from former players, he said, in part: “The success of coach Pepple’s teams on the court cannot be debated. What sets coach Pepple apart is the way he led his teams and the values that he instilled in each of us.” Schott also listed positive character and integrity in the proposal.

Among the public speakers praising Pepple at the meeting were former players Albert Moscatel and Kevin Tempest along with Schott.

“He taught us it was not about being perfect, it was effort,” Moscatel said.

Added Tempest: “I’m privileged to have had even a small role in this storied tradition and am a better person because of the influence of coach Pepple and those he surrounded himself with.”

Schott told the story of Barbara Berry, who asked Pepple if she could play in a MIHS open-gym session one weekend in 1970.

“Coach said, ‘Play defense, play hard and you’ll always be welcome,’” Schott said in the words of Berry, who — thanks in part to Pepple — would later play on the first MIHS girls varsity basketball team. She also competed on the first women’s teams at Seattle Pacific University and University of Washington.

Pepple mentored Berry along the way and she’s now been coaching and teaching in the girls hoops realm for 47 years.

The school district will apprise the community when it sets the date for the Ed Pepple Court unveiling event. The court’s name will be emblazoned on the gym floor and a sign will hang on the west wall of the gym. Funding for the naming will be raised through private donations, according to school board member and naming committee member Julian Bradley.

Survey results

The survey garnered 523 responses — mostly from alumni — with 75% strong support, according to Bradley. The naming criteria included: significant contribution to the district and community; legacy beyond active time; demonstrated leadership and educational excellence, positive character, integrity and values; and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Of the remaining 25% of the respondents, Bradley said that 7% were neutral, 10% didn’t believe the district should name the court or any facility after people, and 8% were largely related to a view of exclusivity to the basketball team and program and potentially complaints about Pepple’s coaching style.