It was long anticipated that, in the 2018-19 season, the Bishop Ludden boys basketball program would have a new man in charge, with Gallagher Driscoll taking over after Pat Donnelly’s retirement.
Now, though, a new coach will be part of the girls basketball program at Ludden, too.
Less than two weeks after the end of a season where the Gaelic Knights won a second consecutive Section III Class B title, Nicole McManus resigned as head coach.
McManus said that her decision came down to believing that her approach did not quite match that of the school and that there were lots of outside voices trying to have a say in matters, something school officials disputed.
All told, McManus spent four years at Ludden, the first two as an assistant coach to Jerry Roesch before taking over as head coach in 2016.
What followed was a 43-7 run that included those back-to-back sectional titles, Ludden defeating Bishop Grimes in the 2017 final and South Jefferson in this winter’s title game at the Carrier Dome earlier this month.
Each of those seasons, the Gaelic Knights lost in the regional round to the eventual state champions –Binghamton Seton Catholic last March, Susquehanna Valley in 2018.
Whoever takes over as head coach next season will not have Danielle Rauch to lead them, but several other key players, including Aurora Deshaies, Karleigh Leo, Katie Costello, Amarah Streiff, Lauren Petrie and Kaitlyn Kibling, are expected to return.
