Riley will lead St. Paul girls hoops program

NORWALK — The circumstances are what they are. As the days became weeks and months, Emily Riley wanted to help any way she could. The St. Paul graduate and assistant girls basketball coach was announced as the next varsity head coach of the Flyers on Thursday. She takes over for Steve Frazee, who died suddenly at the age of 54 on March 11. Frazee was helping set up for the year-end team banquet when he fell ill, and Riley was one of the last people who spoke with him. "You just kind of try to come together for the sake of the team and make sure the girls are taken care of and that they are in a place where they can process everything," Riley said. "We took that time, and I was so grateful to see how many people came for his funeral. "The entire St. Mary Central Catholic team came, as well as many coaches from our conference and past coaches from our program. We were so blown away by the support for our team, and we were just trying to be available to the girls during that time." However, over the last three-plus weeks, the calendar started to turn and questions were asked. The program's open gyms and youth camps are typically held in April and May. The summer schedule was also on the horizon. "It just naturally evolved, and my role as an assistant the past couple of years was to help facilitate a lot of those administrative things," Riley said. "So I continue helping with that, not really knowing what was going to happen. But they started turning into conversations, not just here, but with our family. "I had never really been able to consider anything like this just because of our family dynamics," she added. "My husband (Tavis) travels a lot, and we have three kids in their prime ages, so to even consider it was a lot to ask." The couple has three children: Clay, 12; Kendall, 9; and Roman, 6. All three attend St. Paul and will be on the same campus next school year for the first time. Riley will also transition off as the Norwalk Catholic Governing Board Chair on June 1, ahead of the summer basketball schedule. "Tavis has been so supportive, and we have both sides of our family here," she said. "My kids are also resilient, and they love basketball and have been part of the program, so that also helps." As a player, the former Emily Gross is one of the most accomplished players in program history. The 2001 graduate scored 1,157 points (third all-time). She is also the program record holder for blocked shots in a career (172), rebounds (252) and blocked shots (75) in a season, and free throws (17 of 18) and consecutive free throws (12 straight) in a single game. St. Paul won its only district title in program history when she was a senior. The two-sport standout was an All-Ohioan in basketball and volleyball, where she also still holds the record for blocks in a single match. Longtime athletic director John Livengood has seen Riley as both a player and, in recent years, as an assistant coach. "Emily is exactly the person we need to lead our program in a time we are all grieving the loss of Coach Frazee," Livengood said. "She has demonstrated since her time in high school to the present day that she is committed to doing her best and being a leader. Her accomplishments, both academically and athletically, speak for themselves." After high school, Emily earned an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy, where she played NCAA Division I volleyball and basketball. She earned playing time as a starter in both sports. Eventually, she focused on just basketball before her career ended because of injury. Riley was eventually commissioned into the U.S. Air Force as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer, where she helped lead a squadron of airmen supporting the readiness and deployment of C-17s during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. She received her MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2013. After transitioning out of the Air Force, Riley worked for Stryker Corporation, a Fortune 500 medical device company, leading their technical support team. Emily decided to move back closer to home and became the Director of Materials Management at Fisher Titus Medical Center. Riley joined the Norwalk Catholic Governing Board in 2020, where she has served as the board chair since 2021. Her term ends June 1. She began serving as an assistant basketball coach during the 2020-2021 season. Riley still works for the Air Force Academy as an Admissions Liaison Officer in Ohio, where she assists in mentoring and coaching Academy candidates. "I work with a couple hundred different schools, and it's usually about 35 kids per year," Riley said of her day job. "I just help them and their families with questions they have and the long process itself. I also work with kids across the country on the interview process and help provide the academy some feedback on them." St. Paul finished 2-21 in Frazee's first season, but the Flyers jumped to 11-13 this past season with a Division VII sectional title. The program had four seniors, three juniors, one sophomore, and three freshmen last season. "We will probably be right on that line of having a junior varsity team again," Riley said. "Maybe we can do two quarters, but we'll see how it plays out. That will be the goal." Another former St. Paul player, Emily Grine, will return as an assistant coach. Riley will look to add one or two more assistants to her staff. As a head coach, Riley will likely use some of her basketball background as far as the daily regimen goes. "I think naturally there will be some of that because my background is a little different," she said. "When I played in college, practices were structured a certain way. "I would like to move to that model where we have a little bit more focus in certain areas and a little bit of work on player development more specifically." Riley said her goal is to carry forward the momentum from what Frazee started to next season with the team. Aside from Mapleton, much of the Firelands Conference will be losing key players. If the roster stays the same, the Flyers will be among the more experienced teams as far as returning players. "It was such a great turnaround year for us, and we want to continue to utilize the talent we have in the best way we can," she said. "I feel great with where we are at, and we have some good talent coming back."