The longtime head coach of the Columbia High School boys basketball program received a well-deserved honor this week.

Mark Sandstrom, who has coached the Eagles for 18 seasons, is a member of the 2025 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame class that was announced Monday. 

This class will be honored during the IBCA banquet set for Saturday, May 3, at CEFCU Arena on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal. 

Sandstrom has an overall record of 327-196 with the Eagles after winning 84 games as head coach at Abingdon prior to accepting the Columbia job.

His teams at Columbia have won 20 games in nine different seasons and captured six regional championships. 

In four seasons at Abingdon, he won two regional titles and a sectional title.

Sandstrom played hoops at Roseville High School  and then attended Monmouth College, graduating in 1998. 

Sandstrom’s 2024-25 Eagles squad is off to a 4-0 start this season with high expectations for even  more hardware.

When asked for comment about the IBCA Hall of Fame induction, Sandstrom said he was pleasantly surprised.

“It’s obviously a very prestigious honor,” he said. “It caught me by surprise because of the amount of years (six) I have left before I can retire.”

Sandstrom said he is thankful for the Abingdon and Columbia communities for allowing him to coach their kids.

“I have been very fortunate to have kids who are talented, smart basketball IQs, and are super competitive,” he said. “I have also been blessed with great assistant and feeder coaches who love basketball and have done what they needed to do to help our varsity program be successful.”