Highland Local School District is pleased to announce Ryan Stover as its new head boys’ basketball coach.

A Highland graduate, Stover, 37, has five years of head coaching experience and has spent the last 12 years as a coach in some capacity in and around central Ohio.

“I am excited for this opportunity,” Stover said. “Highland has always been special to me. I am looking forward to getting to work with the players in the program currently and look forward to developing a youth program that will produce quality players for years to come.”

Stover played basketball at Highland under legendary coach Mike Hoyng. His previous coaching stints include being the head girls’ coach at Mount Gilead from 2016-19, an assistant coach at River Valley under head boys’ basketball coach Rod Brown from 2019-21 and serving as the head boys’ basketball coach at Galion the past two seasons.

Highland athletic director Mike DeLaney looks forward to having Stover take the reins of the program.

“We had a large number of qualified applicants for the position, which speaks volumes about how coaches in Ohio view our basketball program,” he said. “Our committee chose Coach Stover from a final grouping of four candidates. His head coaching experience, strong desire to build the program from youth level on up and his ability to create relationships with his players were all attributes that put him over the top in the eyes of our committee.”

Stover is the 14th head boys’ basketball coach in the history of Highland High School. He and his wife Samantha have five children and reside in Marengo.

Information received from Mike DeLaney.