Longtime Elyria High boys basketball coach Brett Larrick resigns

ELYRIA — Brett Larrick resigned Wednesday as Elyria's boys basketball coach. The move was effective immediately. Larrick, who is the winningest coach in program history, cited family obligations as the key reason, among others. "After 18 years of leading this program and 21 total on the boys' side at Elyria High, I have decided to step down," he wrote in a statement to The Chronicle-Telegram. "I want to thank my staff that has worked with me over the years and helped us be so successful. "Most importantly, I want to thank all the players for the memories and for allowing me to be a part of your basketball journey and life. This is a tough decision for me, but one that makes sense for my family and obligations we have moving forward." Elyria City Schools posted the news on its Facebook page. "Thanks, Coach, for your years of dedication, leadership and commitment to the student-athletes of Elyria!" the post concluded. Elyria is coming off a regional final appearance last season, losing to St. Edward, 53-50, at Akron University's JAR Arena. Potentially, the Pioneers return two senior starters, Tink Shelton and Seth Wilkerson, along with junior Ethan Rogers and sophomore Micah Jackson, who logged plenty of time off the bench. Wilkerson scored 217 points and pulled down 72 rebounds a year ago. Shelton led the team with 76 assists. Jackson scored 205 points with 72 rebounds, while Rogers scored 94 points and had 63 rebounds. Elyria had eight players graduate in the spring, including Lorain County's Mr. Basketball, Kendyll Compton. The Pioneers finished 19-7, giving Larrick 239 wins in his career. He became the head coach when Bob Walsh retired following the 2007-08 season. Under Larrick, Elyria won back-to-back Southwestern Conference championships in 2023-24. Overall, Larrick's teams won four conference titles and three district championships. His final record was 239-175, a 58 percent winning percentage. In his 18 years at the helm, Elyria had 12 winning seasons. He was inducted into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and is a member of the Hall of Fame board. He's also been very active in the local and statewide coaching associations. He is the vice president of the Ohio Coaches Association and is widely respected among his peers. Larrick graduated from Elyria in 1993, averaging over 20 points a game during his three years on the varsity. When he graduated, he held the game (43), season (551) and career (1,351) scoring marks. Larrick remains the only Pioneers player to average more than 20 points in his career, and his 25-point average in 1993 is still best. He was named Lorain County's Mr. Basketball and first-team All-Ohio as a senior, earning a scholarship to Charleston Southern. He was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2004. Larrick's high school marks were all broken during his tenure. Louis Tumblin broke the single-game record at Parma in Dec. 2006, scoring 45 points with Larrick filling in for Walsh. Tumblin went on to set the season mark (557) that year. Tumblin and Jayden Crutcher exceeded Larrick's career total. Crutcher broke Tumblin's record (1,419) two years ago, finishing with 1,501 points. Larrick's son Kyler was scheduled to be a freshman at Elyria in the fall. He was a member of Eastern Heights' undefeated team that won the eighth-grade Southwestern Conference championship. With pay-to-play being discussed for Elyria, many of Kyler's teammates have already decided to attend other high schools. It has been rumored a number of returning varsity and junior varsity players are considering transferring. Dan Gundert, one of Larrick's key assistants, recently accepted the head coaching position at Columbia High School. His other assistants were Keenan Williams, Austin Pinkston, Dr. Jonathon Cooper, Curtis Baker and Toby Hunt. Larrick plans to remain on the faculty at Elyria as a business teacher. He and wife Jenn, the former volleyball coach at Avon and Brookside, have two sons, Kyler and Caden. Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or at timothygeb@msn.com.