2023 HS Season

Just for comparison's sake and in no particular order

Greg Ulland - Moeller Head Coach 2003-2011
State Champion - 04, 05, 07, 09
State Runner-Up - 03, 06, 10, 11
Only one year as head coach where he did not make the state finals.

Sean Tierney - Elder Head Coach 2004 - Present
State Champion - 08, 10, 14, 16
State Runner- Up - 09, 13, 21, 22

Craig Erford - Alter Head Coach 2010(?)-2022
D2 State Champion - 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17
D2 State Runner-Up - 18

Bill Ferris - St Xavier Head Coach 2002(?) - Present
State Champion - 03, 06, 19
State Runner-Up - 05, 08, 14

Matt McLaughlin - Moeller Head Coach 2012-2019
State Champion - 12, 18
State Runner-Up - 16, 19

Lee Meyer - Moeller Head Coach 2021 - Present
State Champion - 21, 22
State Champ both years.

I'm not sure who else would be in the conversation if you are solely looking at accolades. Hard to judge Meyer after only two years, walked into a very strong team in '21, but winning the state championship last year was a very impressive coaching job.

Based on the above I would rank them as follows.

1. Ulland
2. Erford
3. Tierney
4. Meyer
5. Mclaughlin
6. Ferris

Also, hard to argue that some of the club coaches we have in Ohio are of very high quality. Webb, Morman, Bianco have all led multiple teams to success at the club level as well
 
Brambleberry said:
Just for comparison's sake and in no particular order

Greg Ulland - Moeller Head Coach 2003-2011
State Champion - 04, 05, 07, 09
State Runner-Up - 03, 06, 10, 11
Only one year as head coach where he did not make the state finals.

Sean Tierney - Elder Head Coach 2004 - Present
State Champion - 08, 10, 14, 16
State Runner- Up - 09, 13, 21, 22

Craig Erford - Alter Head Coach 2010(?)-2022
D2 State Champion - 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17
D2 State Runner-Up - 18

Bill Ferris - St Xavier Head Coach 2002(?) - Present
State Champion - 03, 06, 19
State Runner-Up - 05, 08, 14

Matt McLaughlin - Moeller Head Coach 2012-2019
State Champion - 12, 18
State Runner-Up - 16, 19

Lee Meyer - Moeller Head Coach 2021 - Present
State Champion - 21, 22
State Champ both years.

I'm not sure who else would be in the conversation if you are solely looking at accolades. Hard to judge Meyer after only two years, walked into a very strong team in '21, but winning the state championship last year was a very impressive coaching job.

Based on the above I would rank them as follows.

1. Ulland
2. Erford
3. Tierney
4. Meyer
5. Mclaughlin
6. Ferris

Also, hard to argue that some of the club coaches we have in Ohio are of very high quality. Webb, Morman, Bianco have all led multiple teams to success at the club level as well
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All these coaches are from catholic schools in Cincy, 3 from the same school.

This is a tough argument, I know of a lot of great coaches that can't get the type of athletes the schools above can.

All of the coaches mentioned above were/are great, however Elder, Moeller, and Xavier will be good regardless of who's leading.

Impossible to compare those schools to the rest of the state imo.
 
Outworker said:
All these coaches are from catholic schools in Cincy, 3 from the same school.

This is a tough argument, I know of a lot of great coaches that can't get the type of athletes the schools above can.

All of the coaches mentioned above were/are great, however Elder, Moeller, and Xavier will be good regardless of who's leading.

Impossible to compare those schools to the rest of the state imo.
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I definitely agree, and the greatest coach Ohio has ever seen solely based off of coaching talent likely isn’t on this list, but it’s a really difficult argument to make. At some point in order to get recognition in the conversation you need some rings, regardless of how bad your school situation is.
 
I agree with the above. Looking at "Other" schools I think Webb did a great job at Darby, Monty Moser did an amazing job for a long time at Centerville, Carol Bysak has built a strong program at Beavercreek to name a few
 
I think it's basically impossible to compare because, as others have pointed out, the resources and incoming athletes vary so greatly. Similar to the "Coach of the Year" award that for many years in the South region just went to whoever won the GCL. Were they really the best coach that year or just the beneficiary of the best roster? Hard to say. I believe Mason's coach won it a few years back but otherwise I think it has been all GCL in South D1. But this is human nature and the easiest way to vote, and it happens around the rest of the state to some degree as well.
 
Brambleberry said:
I agree with the above. Looking at "Other" schools I think Webb did a great job at Darby, Monty Moser did an amazing job for a long time at Centerville, Carol Bysak has built a strong program at Beavercreek to name a few
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Carol's commitment to a youth program has been a game changer for them to be competitive year in and year out.
 
Falcon11 said:
I think it's basically impossible to compare because, as others have pointed out, the resources and incoming athletes vary so greatly. Similar to the "Coach of the Year" award that for many years in the South region just went to whoever won the GCL. Were they really the best coach that year or just the beneficiary of the best roster? Hard to say. I believe Mason's coach won it a few years back but otherwise I think it has been all GCL in South D1. But this is human nature and the easiest way to vote, and it happens around the rest of the state to some degree as well.
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Didn't Lawless from TW win recently?
 
Falcon11 said:
I think it's basically impossible to compare because, as others have pointed out, the resources and incoming athletes vary so greatly. Similar to the "Coach of the Year" award that for many years in the South region just went to whoever won the GCL. Were they really the best coach that year or just the beneficiary of the best roster? Hard to say. I believe Mason's coach won it a few years back but otherwise I think it has been all GCL in South D1. But this is human nature and the easiest way to vote, and it happens around the rest of the state to some degree as well.
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It seems that's changed a little bit in recent years. Not really in the DI South, but elsewhere it seems other coaches have been getting more recognition even when their team isn't necessarily great. Hope this and other awards/recognition for players can start to follow suit a bit more going forward.
 
MatchPoint said:
Yeah that was the year of the 5th 13-5 comeback against Darby. I have no clue how much other coaches heard about that but I always thought it might’ve put him over the edge.
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The East has the most teams and therefore the most votes in the state, so that could’ve played a factor. Believe Meyer won South COY in 21, but hasn’t won State COY yet. I’m sure he’d take the rings over the individual recognition any day though. The guy is certainly one of the best right now. The way he game planned for Elder this past year, and even defending Gilbert in 21 was impressive.
 
MatchPoint said:
Ok so here’s a question. Who is the GOAT head coach as of right now? I don’t think anyone would dispute Craig Erford (6-1 in state champs) at the D2 level, but what about D1? I would probably have Greg Ulland just because of how dominant his teams were in a relatively short span, but there’s something to be said about Tierney’s longevity. Ferris should also probably be in the conversation. And to add to that, where does Lee Meyer rank if Moeller hypothetically threepeats his first three seasons?
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Strongly disagree :)
 
Brambleberry said:
I can take a stab at that. Been at St X for 20 years with 3 state championships and 3 runner-ups to show for it. I think many people believe the talent individual talent level has been on par with Elder and Moeller, but far less team success at St. X.
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And that's just on paper.

Has a history of switching line-ups the moment something goes wrong and hoping it works. Looking at the past two years, (especially '21) X started the season as #1, beating Elder and Moeller, but were eventually surpassed later in the season which in my opinion, is at least some reflection on coaching. Not to drop names, but I know there have been more than a handful of X players and parents that are less than happy with his coaching.
 
MyNameIsDoug? said:
Here's the new divisional alignment. Being a Cincinnati person, LaSalle moving back to D1 is gonna be tough for them. They'll still be good, but they could be competing for a state title in D2. Looks like Edgewood and Walsh Jesuit also make the move to D1 in addition to the schools mentioned above.

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So intriguing to see how postseason will look. With 3 regions, how would state tournament look? Creek and Centerville being with the Cincinnati schools is also something I’m really interested to see, along with other strong D2 schools moving up like Alter. Postseason going to be a dog fight in the Southwest.
 
Flyer28 said:
So intriguing to see how postseason will look. With 3 regions, how would state tournament look? Creek and Centerville being with the Cincinnati schools is also something I’m really interested to see, along with other strong D2 schools moving up like Alter. Postseason going to be a dog fightu in the Southwest.
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Perhaps a 12 team playoff where the top 4 seeds have a bye? Maybe state rankings will actually matter.
 
MatchPoint said:
Perhaps a 12 team playoff where the top 4 seeds have a bye? Maybe state rankings will actually matter.
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Yeah I feel like OHSAA threw a curveball with having 3 conferences as opposed to the typical 4 with the other sports. Also just makes it extremely difficult for the southwest region where 6 out of the top 8 teams from last year all now all in the same region. I would be interested to see playoffs that put more importance on the team rankings as opposed to region
 
TenRingsAndCounting said:
Yeah I feel like OHSAA threw a curveball with having 3 conferences as opposed to the typical 4 with the other sports. Also just makes it extremely difficult for the southwest region where 6 out of the top 8 teams from last year all now all in the same region. I would be interested to see playoffs that put more importance on the team rankings as opposed to region
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Maybe I’m missing something here. Where are you guys seeing the 3 conferences thing?
 
Flyer28 said:
So intriguing to see how postseason will look. With 3 regions, how would state tournament look? Creek and Centerville being with the Cincinnati schools is also something I’m really interested to see, along with other strong D2 schools moving up like Alter. Postseason going to be a dog fight in the Southwest.
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Alter’s still in D2
 
MatchPoint said:
Pretty sure Central absorbs East. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense until you look at the teams on a map.
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If it's really only gonna be 3 then maybe we'll still see 2 teams coming from each one and there'll be 2 brackets per conference? OHSBVA and OHSAA had to have gotten together and let it be known that many of the best teams are coming from the same region, so having only one come from a certain area would result in a slightly watered down state tournament. I hope the expansion of the sport results in more parity at some point, but, right now, it'd definitely be watered down if only one school from the former South could make it. Especially this upcoming season with X and Moe looking like they'll be the top 2 teams in the state.
 
MyNameIsDoug? said:
If it's really only gonna be 3 then maybe we'll still see 2 teams coming from each one and there'll be 2 brackets per conference? OHSBVA and OHSAA had to have gotten together and let it be known that many of the best teams are coming from the same region, so having only one come from a certain area would result in a slightly watered down state tournament. I hope the expansion of the sport results in more parity at some point, but, right now, it'd definitely be watered down if only one school from the former South could make it. Especially this upcoming season with X and Moe looking like they'll be the top 2 teams in the state.
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Maybe OHSAA will go one more year like the 3/4 player team rule but I kind of doubt it
 
MyNameIsDoug? said:
Maybe I’m missing something here. Where are you guys seeing the 3 conferences thing?
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I misread and didn’t see “Northwest” division. But even with that, there’s only two D1 teams in that region (Springfield and Waite). I get that the sport in the Toledo area is still very much developing but at that point I think it just makes the most sense to lump them in with the Cleveland schools.
 
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