Hammond named new SMCC boys basketball coach

SANDUSKY — Kyle Hammond wasn't away from the game for long. The decade-long Edison coach was named Friday as the new boys basketball coach at St. Mary Central Catholic. "I am very excited about the opportunity to coach at St. Mary," Hammond said in a news release. "It is a great fit for me and there is a great basketball tradition here and history of athletic success throughout all the programs." Hammond takes over for Chris Ceccoli, who stepped down on March 8 after five seasons at the helm of the Panthers. Hammond said Ceccoli helped convince him to follow in his place at SMCC. "Chris Ceccoli has been a big influence on me throughout my coaching career, and he was a major factor in me pursuing this position," Hammond said. "I am excited to follow him knowing the work he put into it, and how he and his staffs have continued to build and grow the program." Hammond stepped down from Edison on April 12. The Chargers are in the process of filling that position. In his 10 seasons at Edison, Hammond had a 97-136 record. His 2015-16 team won SBC and district championships and won a school-record 23 games. The Chargers repeated as district champions the following year. Hammond is the nephew of Toby Hammond, SMCC's football coach. "My family's connection to St. Mary made this feel like a good home for me," Hammond said. "My family has strong ties to St. Mary and many have always spoken so highly of their experiences here. My uncle Toby is the football coach and I grew up hearing stories of his teams' successes and their playoff runs. I am looking forward to working with him and the other coaches within the athletic department." This will be the second varsity head-coaching job for Hammond, a Huron graduate. Before his time at Edison, he was an assistant at his alma mater for three seasons and spent one season as a Margaretta assistant. "We are extremely excited and very fortunate to have Coach Hammond take over leadership of our boys basketball program," SMCC athletic director Steve Ruthsatz said. "He has been a head coach in the SBC for a decade, where he won conference and district championships, and before that worked under some great local coaches in Bobby James and Troy Roth." The Panthers are coming off a 7-17 season, including 5-11 in the SBC River Division. They won their sectional opener on a buzzer-beater from Charlie Kaftan before getting knocked out by top-seeded Colonel Crawford. SMCC is expected to return three of its top five scorers: Kaftan (8.6 ppg), Braylon Harris (7.1) and Nathan Wehner (5.2). "I can't wait to meet the players and the families to build those relationships and hit the ground running," Hammond said. "We have a good group of returning players and underclassmen that I am excited to work with and help develop on and off the court." Hammond, an intervention specialist in the Edison Local School District, and his wife Morgyn have two children: Colton (8) and Jack (4). As a Huron senior in 2003-04, Hammond averaged 12.6 points per game. His Tigers lost twice to the Panthers that season, although Hammond scored 16 points in the second meeting. Hammond has a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University, a master's in athletic administration from Ohio University and a principal licensure from the University of Findlay. "I truly believe that Kyle will be a great fit here," Ruthsatz said, "and do a fantastic job leading our boys basketball program where Chris left off."