AUGUSTA — Almost a decade after emerging as one of Maine high school basketball’s biggest names while at Spruce Mountain, Alex Bessey is set to lead one of the state’s most storied programs.
After two years as the girls basketball coach at Mt. Blue, Bessey has accepted the same position at Cony High. Bessey, who also played at Central Maine Community College and UMaine-Farmington, will replace John Dennett, who resigned in August.
Bessey takes over a program steeped in history. The Rams won seven state championships under legendary coach Paul Vachon from 1985 to 2008. The program experienced some ups and downs following Vachon’s retirement but returned to prominence under Dennett, winning the Class A North title in 2023-24 and going 16-4 last season.
“I’m honored that I was given the job,” Bessey said. “It’s a great opportunity with a great program, and it’s really exciting. I’m really looking forward to it and getting started.”
Athletic director T.J. Maines said he was impressed by Bessey’s “strong background” and called the 2017 Spruce Mountain graduate’s “firm but approachable” demeanor ideal for Cony. He also saw in Bessey, who said Maines reached out to her about the job, a promising vision for the future of the program.
“I’ve known her since she was a player, and always kind of admired her in terms of the way she goes about doing things,” Maines said. “She was very articulate about what she wanted to do with the talented group we have coming back this year, but also what she wants to do at the youth level.”
The team Bessey takes over is expected to be young but talented. The Rams will boast a sophomore nucleus led by Kya Douin and Gabby Vachon that should be competitive this year and beyond.
“I haven’t had a chance to meet them yet — I’m hoping to within the next month — but a few of them have already texted me,” Bessey said. “That excitement, their athletic ability and how young they are, that makes me very excited, also.”
At Spruce Mountain, Bessey was a 1,000-point scorer and a two-time Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B first-team selection. She won a USCAA Division II national title with CMCC in 2018-19 before transferring to UMaine-Farmington, where she became a three-year starter.
In addition to her basketball success, Bessey was a standout field hockey player at Spruce Mountain and UMaine-Farmington. She’s also the field hockey coach at Spruce Mountain, which is 8-3 and in third place in the Class C South Heal point standings.
The Bessey name is well-known throughout the western and central Maine sports landscape. Alex’s father, Chris, is the UMF baseball coach, and her brother, Jacob, is the baseball coach at UMaine-Augusta. Her uncles are also coaches: Scott coaches the Spruce boys basketball team and Skip is the former Maranacook football coach.
“I come from a long line of coaches, so I have a lot of resources that I’m able to use,” Bessey said. “I think coaching is a great way to share my excitement and love for the game with these younger athletes, and I’m excited to do it at Cony.”
