LOUDONVILLE – A two-month whirlwind loaded with memorable big steps and breakthroughs for Tyler Bates has swiftly come to a stop on a new landing spot.
Bates, who coached the Loudonville girls basketball team in the Division IV state semifinals March 18 in Dayton, announced four days later he would be resigning as the LHS Athletic Director, Dean of Students and girls basketball coach.
On Thursday, Strasburg High School Athletic Director Gary Spinell announced in a press release that Bates had been approved in a special meeting of the school’s board of education to take over the girls hoops program for the Tigers.
“Coach Bates really impressed us with his emphasis on the basketball program starting at the youth level all the way through high school,” Spinell said in the release. “His vast experience and success are obviously evident, but his commitment to student athletes is what especially made him stand out in the interview process.
“In the interview process it became clear that Tyler is a true promoter of the importance of educational-based athletics.”
The news came exactly two months after Bates collected his 200th career victory with the Redbirds in a district championship victory over Mogadore.
The 11th-year coach ended his Loudonville tenure with the most basketball wins in Ashland County history (202-69).
His squad’s 26-3 record this year marked the most single-season victories on the court in county history as well, and he was named the Division IV Coach of the Year for the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association.
While Bates was part of a rebuilding project when he took over at Loudonville fresh out of college in 2013, he will inherit a Strasburg program teeming with potential.
Under fourth-year head coach Troy McClellan, who stepped down from the position in April, the Tigers won three straight Inter-Valley Conference North Division titles for the first time in program history.
Bates said the squad will return its entire starting lineup – including three All-Ohioans – after a 2023-24 campaign that featured a 19-6 overall record (12-0 IVC North).
“Driving through Strasburg reminded me a lot of driving through Loudonville the first few times a decade ago,” Bates told the Ashland Source on Thursday night.
“The size of the school, the work ethic of the kids, the pride in the community are all things that reminded me of Loudonville, and also Orrville and Smithville where I grew up.”
“I know it’s a hard-working group of multi-sport kids and they’ve had a lot of success in all the female sports there,” he added of his new team. “For that to be the case, you have to have kids that are proud of their school and want to get in the gym and compete.”
Bates said the position immediately caught his eye because he had watched film of the team during the season, as the two programs could have met on the Division IV tournament trail.
He said things didn’t take long to sort out after he first spoke with Spinell, and added that he’s excited to have the chance to take over a program that has been led by McClellan.
Also the former boys basketball coach from 1996 through 2007 at Strasburg, where he was 231-198 with a state Final Four appearance in 2001, McClellan led the Dover girls program for four years before returning to guide the Tiger girls.
Boasting a 362-262 career coaching record, he is a Strasburg legend as a member of the school’s Hall of Fame and will continue to coach the boys golf program at the school.
McClellan was the IVC North Coach of the Year each of the last three seasons and the team totaled a program-record 20 wins in 2021-22.
This past season, the Tigers were paced by two-time All-Ohioan Riley Thomas, the IVC North Player of the Year who will be a senior next year, when Bates said she’s on pace to become the program’s all-time leading scorer.
If not for an overtime loss to Mansfield Senior, Strasburg would have had an 11-game regular-season winning streak. In the postseason – for the second consecutive year – the Tigers lost in the district semifinals to Division IV and IVC South Division powerhouse Berlin Hiland.
Over the last three seasons combined, Strasburg is 58-16 overall and 33-2 in IVC North games. Bates said the school has a multi-purpose gymnasium that was built just a year ago and is attached to a pair of hardwood gyms.
He still lives in Loudonville with his wife, Whitney, and their two young children, so the drive will be about an hour to Strasburg, just north of Dover. Beyond coaching, Bates said the goal is to end up with a job in the building in some capacity.
He also said he looks forward to the getting-to-know-you stage with his new team.
“Every coach is different and there’s going to be a learning period for us – me getting used to the players, and the players getting used to me,” Bates said. “I was blessed with some incredible kids at Loudonville that just worked so hard. They were tough, they showed up and knew it was time to get down to business.
“We’re going to grow together and I think that’s kind of the exciting part about doing something new here.”
There is a chance Strasburg could run into Loudonville in the postseason. With the new divisional reconstruction for basketball yet to be announced, Bates said the Tigers will definitely play in Division VII, while both Loudonville and SHS rival Hiland are on the border of either Division VI or Division VII.
The coach said he’s just looking forward to trying to add to the growing legacy of the program.
While Strasburg is known across Ohio for its softball program – its nine state titles are tied with Warren Champion and Akron Springfield for the most in the sport – the Tigers have never made the Final Four in girls basketball.
“I would never be one to walk in without even being in the gym one day (with the players) and make declarations about what our goals are or anything like that,” Bates said. “But I know we want to be competitive and we want to reach our potential. Whatever that is is to be determined.
“With the type of athletes that they have in the (school) district traditionally, it could end up being something pretty special.”