Athlete – Basketball
Vince Sanford is the son of William H. Sanford, Sr. and Barbara L. Bolton. He was born in Lexington, KY, and has two brothers, William Sanford, Jr., and Keith “Boo” Sanford, and two sisters, Octavia Sanford (deceased) and Grekieshia Bolton.
Vince is married to Angela Johnson-Sanford, and together they have two kids, Vincent “Vee” Sanford ll and Nataliah V. Sanford. They also have three grandchildren, Aubrey Sanford, Noah V. Sanford, and Aliah Sanford, and a daughter-in-law, Jordane Sanford.
He lived on the East Side of Lexington on McCracken Drive and Sixth and Elm Tree Lane before moving to Charlotte Court. Charlotte Court, Douglass Park, and Meadowthorpe are the playgrounds where he played multiple sports. Vince played football and basketball for Frank Watson at Winburn Jr. High before moving on to Lafayette High School. At Lafayette, he competed in the high jump and long jump for the track team.
Most notably, Vince played basketball at Lafayette for coaches Donnie Harville and Steve Chandler. As a sophomore, he played varsity and helped the Generals make it to the regional championship. As a junior, Vince was hospitalized with a staph infection that almost forced him to have his leg amputated. He played fewer than 12 games that season but was still named Honorable Mention All-State. In his senior year, Vince led Lafayette to a 22-5 record, a #4 ranking in the state, and a win against the #3 team in the country, DeMatha Catholic. Averaging 16.1 pts. and 11.7 rebounds a game, Vince earned recognition as 1st Team All-State (Lexington Herald-Leader), 1st Team All-State (Louisville Courier-Journal), AP 1st Team All-State, Converse All-America, McDonald’s All-America nominee, and finalist for Mr. Kentucky Basketball. He was also selected to play in the prestigious Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Game.
After his stellar high school career, Vince was recruited and had offers from schools in the ACC, SEC, Pac-10, Southwest Conference and the Sunbelt Conference before signing with the University of Kentucky. Vince later transferred to the University of South Florida (USF), where he played two years for coaches Lee Rose and fellow LAASHOF Class of 2025 member Everett Bass, along with one year for Bobby Paschal. However, Vince continued to experience nagging injuries his entire playing career at USF.
Despite his injuries, Vince was still invited to the “Pro Summer League” but suffered a torn ACL and MCL.
Vince then moved back to Lexington in the 90s, working briefly in Corrections before finding his calling in coaching. He started coaching in Parks and Rec leagues, (football, basketball, and baseball) and later received his first high school basketball coaching job as an assistant varsity and head freshman coach in 2001 at Bourbon County High School. In 2003, Vince accepted an assistant coaching position at his alma mater, Lafayette High School, as head junior varsity and assistant varsity coach. He helped lead the Generals to the 2004 KHSAA Sweet 16 State Tournament.
In 2007, Vince accepted an assistant varsity coaching position at Lexington Catholic High School. During his tenure with the Knights, his teams had four KHSAA Sweet 16 State Tournament appearances. He accepted an assistant varsity coaching position at LCA in 2016, helping to guide the Eagles to an All-A State Championship in 2018.
In 2022, Vince accepted the Head Coaching job at Lafayette High School, a position he still holds today. He enjoys working and helping people and promoting The Jock Sutherland Classic. Named for the late, legendary Lafayette coach, the classic addresses gun violence, mental health awareness, and cyber bullying. Vince has also worked with the Lexington Rescue Mission outreach program. He lives his life by this motto: “As long as you are living, getting old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.”
He truly believes life is bigger than basketball.
