By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
After a seven-year absence on the sidelines, George Stoll will return to 9th Region girls basketball as head coach of the Notre Dame Academy team.
Stoll was girls head coach at Newport Central Catholic from 2012 to 2018. He said he never interviewed for another head coaching job after that until he heard about Notre Dame not renewing the contract for Kes Murphy, who was in charge of the Pandas’ program the last seven seasons.
“I was content with just training kids over the winter,” Stoll said. “That was kind of my plan, and then this came open. I always knew I’d be interested in this if it came open.”
At NewCath, Stoll’s teams compiled a 112-74 record in six seasons. The best season came in 2013-14 when the Thoroughbreds won the 9th Region championship and finished with a 29-5 record. He also had three teams that won 9th Region All “A” Classic championships in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
After leaving the NewCath program, Stoll was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Thomas More University and coached AAU summer teams. He is also co-founder of Next Play Academy, a training program for young players.
“George Stoll is a tremendous addition to our athletics program,” Notre Dame athletic director Janet Carl said in a media release. “His coaching experience, character, and leadership align beautifully with the mission of Notre Dame Academy.”
The newly hired head coach said he scheduled a team meeting on Monday. That will include varsity players returning from last season when the Pandas lost a close game against Cooper, 60-57, in the 9th Region final and finished with a 22-8 record. Three of the starting players on that team were among the five seniors who graduated.
“I know that we have a really good group of girls coming back that I’m really excited about,” Stoll said of the returning players that include Emma Holtzapfel and Amelia Stallard. They made a combined total of 151 3-point goals and averaged 11.9 and 7.8 points per game last season.
“Northern Kentucky is a very unique place in that there are so many schools near each other and it’s been a very competitive region for such a long time,” Stoll said. “It’s one of the toughest regions in the state. And I’m excited for myself to compete in it.”
Bellevue basketball coach looking for replacement
Jim Hicks, head coach of the Bellevue boys basketball team the last 14 seasons, is looking for someone to take over that job, according to an online post.
Hicks is also athletic director at the high school and the online post directs anyone interested in the head coaching position to contact him at jim.hicks@bellevue.kyschools.us.
High school basketball teams in Kentucky are not separated into classes based on school enrollment for the post-season playoffs. Bellevue is one of the smallest public schools in the 9th Region and the Tigers were eliminated in the district playoffs each season under Hicks. His teams compiled a 160-251 record overall.
Bellevue finished 19-12 in the 2023-24 season and Hicks was named co-winner of Coach of the Year in NKAC Division III. Last season, the Tigers won eight of their last 14 games and posted a 10-20 record with three juniors as the team leaders in scoring and rebounding.
Campbell County golfer wins Ky. Junior Amateur
Campbell County senior Talen Beane birdied the final two holes in the Kentucky Boys Junior Amateur to win the tournament by one stroke with a three-day total of 2-under-par 214 at Persimmon Ridge Golf Club in Louisville.
According to a post on kyjuniorgolf.org, Beane was tied for the lead going into the final round after carding 2-under 70 and 1-under 71 in the first two days of the tournament that started with more than 100 entries.
After a bogey-free front nine, Beane got bogeys on 13 and 15 and a double-bogey on 16, but birdies on the final two holes saved him. Three golfers tied for second place with 215 totals.
Beane made a verbal commitment with Northern Kentucky University after his junior season last fall. when he tied for 41st place in the championship round of the boys state tournament after placing eighth in the Region 8 state qualifier.