Hoying named new Perkins boys basketball coach

Andy Hoying isn't super familiar with northwest Ohio, but he knows a thing or two about it. The 2012 Jackson Center graduate has ties to the area, but he's ready to take on a big task at full speed. Hoying was approved as the new boys basketball coach at Perkins at the board of education meeting Wednesday. "I am thrilled for an opportunity to lead this team," Hoying said. "I am committed to everything I have to lead this program. We want to have a Perkins standard. The community has a high standard and I can't wait to keep that going." Hoying takes over for Eric Kochendoefer, who resigned last month after three seasons of leading the Pirates. During his time, Perkins went 46-26. The Pirates won at least 15 games in each of Kochendoerfer's three years including a 15-9 mark this year. "The committee was impressed by his vision for the program," Perkins athletic director Brad Watson said. "He is committed to the culture and overall performance. Andy is knowledgeable about the game and has a strong work ethic. He's ready to build relationships with the players." Hoying spent the last year as director of student-athlete success at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania. Before that, he was an assistant coach on the men's basketball team at Mercyhurst from 2021-2024. He couldn't pass up the opportunity to not only get back into coaching, but become a head coach for the first time. "I really wanted to get back into coaching and it worked out," Hoying said. "I was looking and the Perkins job popped up. I reached out to a number of people and everything I heard about Perkins was good. I know the community has had success in the past, so I thought this was a good opportunity. "I'm ready to dive head in. I can't express enough gratitude to the hiring committee for the opportunity." Hoying was the Division IV Player of the Year and state runner-up at Jackson Center. After graduating high school, he played for four years at Mercyhurst, who is transitioning from Division II to Division I. He graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts, Business Economics and Accounting. Hoying was named a Mercyhurst Scholar-Athlete of the Year and champion scholar. Hoying served as an assistant coach at Bishop Hartley High School from 2018-2020 and at Wapakoneta High School in 2020-2021. "He has valuable experience from his stops prior to this," Watson said. "We felt based on his interview skills that he brings that is ready to make that step. He is surrounded by good people. "He is walking into a situation where the program is in a good spot. He is walking into an unique situation as a head coach where winning has been established." Hoying will be making the move to the Sandusky area soon as he finishes up his time at Mercyhurst. Hoying will jump into one of the tougher conferences in the area in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division. He's ready for the challenge. "I know there are plenty of challenges, but I've had a lot of great coaches to learn from," Hoying said. "But, I want some challenges. I think as an assistant, sometimes it's easy to not look at the program as a whole. That's one of the challenges I want to tackle. "I know a decent amount about the SBC and the teams in it. It's a great league and I'm happy to be a part of it. At the end of the day, the goal is to compete at the top of the league. That's what we will strive for."