Marysville High School girls basketball head coach Klarke Ransome (center) talks with his team during a timeout. Ransome has stepped down as the Lady Monarch boss and will take over the girls basketball program at Olentangy High School.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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The coach who built Marysville High School into a strong central Ohio girls basketball program has moved on.
Klarke Ransome, who guided the Lady Monarchs to their first, and to date, only district hoop championship has stepped down.
Ransome has left the MHS program to take over as the head girls basketball coach at Olentangy High School.
The former Lady Monarch bench boss said it was tough as he was pondering the future.
“This was probably the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make,” he told the Journal-Tribune.
“The Marysville community, school administration, staff, players and parents have been great to work with,” he said. “The community embraced me when I took over the program and I can’t thank everyone enough.
“I will hold the relationships I have built in Marysville very near and dear to my heart.”
Ransome is a physical education instructor in the Olentangy school district and teaches in several buildings, ranging from elementary school through high school.
By coaching at Olentangy, he will cut out his daily commutes to Marysville during the season and have more time to spend with his family, he said.
“Coaching basketball takes a lot of time,” Ransome said. “By coaching in the district in which I teach and being closer to home, I will be able to spend more time with my family.”
Ransome served as the boys junior varsity basketball coach for several years at Marysville High School before taking over the girls program in the summer of 2020.
Under his guidance, the Lady Monarchs achieved immediate success.
During his four-year run, Ransome led MHS to an overall record of 87-17.
The Lady Monarchs captured three consecutive Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division titles.
Ironically, it was Olentangy that edged out Marysville for the divisional championship during the 2023-2024 season.
Since both schools are in the OCC Cardinal Division, the hoop squads play twice (home-and-home) during each season.
The Lady Monarchs did not have a history of post-season success until Ransome took the helm.
With Ransome in charge, Marysville reached the Division I district finals each season.
MHS captured the 2022-23 district championship and finished as a regional runner-up.
Marysville earned district runner-up trophies the other three seasons, including the 2023-24 campaign.
At one point in the past season, MHS was ranked as high as No. 4 in the Associated Press Division I state poll.
Marysville High School athletic director Joey Day said he is in the processs of accepting applications for the coaching position.
“We haven’t set a deadline for those applications,” Day told the newspaper.
“We know June is a very important off-season month for basketball, but we want to do a thorough job in selecting our new head coach.”
The month of June is generally the time when high school hoop programs conduct summer and youth camps and compete during shootout games.
Day said that until a head coach is hired, MHS assistant coaches Hannah Schaeffer, Andy Schwoehow and Chris Freeman will be in charge of the program, supervising weight training and other basketball activities.
“It is important for the program to keep working during the month of June,” said Day. “Our assistant coaches will oversee the program until a new head coach is hired.”
What is the Monarch athletic director looking for in a new head coach?
“We are looking for someone with high character who will continue to build on the success we experienced with Klarke as our head coach,” he said.
“We hate to see Klarke leave, but by the same token, you can’t prevent someone from moving to another position,” said Day.
“Klarke did a tremendous job and he has left big shoes to fill.”