The search for Marysville High School’s next boys head basketball coach has been whittled from 22 applicants to eight finalists.
Monarch athletic director Joey Day said initial interviews began Wednesday afternoon and continued into the evening for several of the finalists.
The remaining contenders to replace former head coach Ryan Gross were scheduled to be interviewed today.
“We expected to receive about the number of applications we had,” said Day. “We expected the job to be a desirable position, what with our recent success (an Ohio Capital Conference Central Division championship in 2019-20) and based on what we are trying to build.
“There are a lot of basketball jobs open throughout Ohio and schools are competing to attract the top candidates.”
The list of finalists for the Monarch position includes Bill Romine, who is the boys assistant coach at Thomas Worthington, and Brent Cahill, the assistant boys coach at Dublin Scioto.
Romine spent one season in the early 2000s as the Marysville High School girls head coach and is currently the MHS girls tennis head coach and the boys assistant tennis coach.
Romine is on the teaching staff within the Marysville district.
Cahill formerly served as head coach for the Jonathan Alder boys basketball team.
Other finalists include Mark Tinklenberg, assistant coach at Dublin Coffman; Rob Davis, assistant coach at Granville High School; Max Shawvery, assistant coach at Westerville Central; Jeremy Duerr, head coach at New Lexington; Ryan Davis, assistant coach at Chesapeake; and Nick Dials, the former men’s basketball head coach at Urbana University.
The finalists have been or are being interviewed by the district’s search committee, which consists of Tom Cochran, principal at Marysville High School; Ken Chaffin, principal at the Marysville Early College High School; Day; Scott Moyer, athletic director at Bunsold Middle School; and Klarke Ransome, Marysville High School’s head girls basketball coach.
“After today (Thursday), we will pare the list down to the top two or three candidates,” said Day. “Those candidates will then meet with our basketball players and parents in order for us to get feedback from them.”
Day said he hopes the new coach will be hired by the board of education by the end of the month.