Five intriguing coaching hires during the off season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Once again, more than 70 high schools in Wisconsin had to hire new varsity boys' basketball coaches during the off season. We have kept track of the changes and the updates can be found <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/09/boys-basketball-coaching-openings-for-2026-27/" data-type="link" data-id="prephoops.com/2026/09/boys-basketball-coaching-openings-for-2026-27/">here</a>.<br><br>Here's a look at five of the more intriguing hires of the off season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Drake Diener, Fond du Lac</strong><br><br>After eight seasons as head coach at Marian University in Fond du Lac, Drake Diener accepted the varsity boys' basketball and athletic director positions as Fond du Lac during the spring. The former De Paul and Fond du Lac standout played for his father, Dick, in high school and now Dick will serve as one of Drake's assistant coaches with the Cardinals. A well-respected coach who guided Marian to one NCAA Division III Tournament appearance and an 87-107 record during his tenure with the Sabres, Diener figures to bring stability to a school that is entering is third straight season with a new head coach. If nothing else, Diener's teams will be well prepared, play strong defense and fully understand how tough-minded you need to be to find success in the Fox Valley Association. Coming off a 7-18 finish in 2025-26, Fond du Lac could be a surprise team in the FVA this winter as Diener gets the chance to mold a team together that includes four returning starters in [player_tooltip player_id='2381450' first='Jensen' last='Jacobitz'] (6-5), [player_tooltip player_id='2639753' first='Eli' last='Michalkiewicz'] (6-1), [player_tooltip player_id='2381486' first='Byron' last='Jones'] (6-6) and [player_tooltip player_id='2399897' first='Lamontae' last='Foster'] (6-0).<br><br><strong>Nick Ford, Kettle Moraine</strong><br><br>Speaking of Fond du Lac, Nick Ford is on the move again. The ex-Fondy star spent several years as the Cardinals' head coach before exiting following the 2024-25 season and then turning in a pit-stop year as head coach at Dominican in Whitefish Bay last winter. He's now in charge of the program at Kettle Moraine, which, like Fond du Lac, plays in an extremely difficult conference in the Classic Eight. Ford is a good young coach, one of the better mentors in the state, and he proved that during his tenure as Fond du Lac's head coach, leading the program to a FVA championship in 2022-23. At Kettle Moraine, Ford takes over a program that has had recent success, qualifying for the WIAA State Tournament in 2022-23 and 2023-24. His squad this season might not be projected to win the league title, but Ford's team will be highly competitive and returns a couple of double-figure scorers in improving junior forward Sam Wagner (6-8) and steady senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2440785' first='Dane' last='Peters'] ()6-2).<br><br><strong>Marc Mitchell, Dominican</strong><br><br>The common theme here is new coaches in tough neighborhoods. Following the lead of Diener and Ford, Mitchell, too, joins a rigorous league in the Metro Classic as the new mentor at Dominican. A former standout player who teamed with Trevor Powell to help Milwaukee Washington win the 1987 WIAA Class A state championship under the late Clyde Rusk, Ford boasts a varied head-coaching background in the greater Milwaukee area after his successful collegiate career at UW-Milwaukee. Ford guided Milwaukee Custer to a state-quarterfinal appearance in 2002-03 before later serving as head coach at Shorewood, Milwaukee Washington and, most recently, Holy Redeemer. His first squad at Dominican will feature one of the state's better players in 6-foot-4 senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2127267' first='Zeak' last='Jones'], who averaged 25.9 points per game as a junior and recently committed to NCAA Division I Northern Illinois. The young talent in the Dominican program is impressive, and Mitchell will get the chance to work with some promising underclassmen in sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2845408' first='Da'Vaion' last='Powell'] (6-3) and [player_tooltip player_id='3157915' first='Xavier' last='Smith'] (6-1) along with freshmen EJ Cook Jr. (6-3) and [player_tooltip player_id='2404462' first='Jahir' last='Craig'] (5-7), among others.<br><br><strong>Rick Rosinski, Shawano</strong><br><br>After more than 20 years of coaching at Green Bay East and Green Bay Preble, Rosinski recently was hired as the new varsity coach at Shawano. This comes after a very emotional, upsetting and perplexing spring as Preble basically fired the highly respected coach for reasons that were never made public. Reports out of Green Bay centered around the relentless criticism Rosinski received from one parent. Preble athletic director Tim Flood, despite huge support from the Green Bay community for Rosinski, went ahead with Rosinski's dismissal and hired a new coach in former UW-Green Bay guard Steve Baker. Meanwhile, Rosinski landed as the head coach at Shawano and the Hawks could benefit greatly from Rosinski's extensive coaching experience. At the same time, Rosinski is stepping into a situation not unlike Preble as Shawano dismissed former coach Matt Ambrosius, who won more than 100 games as head coach at the Bay Conference school, last spring. He takes over a program with a pair of proven performers in senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2381614' first='Jackson' last='Nordin'] (6-7) and senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2140991' first='Will' last='Verkuilen'] (5-11).<br><br><strong>Billy Wilson, Madison Memorial</strong><br><br>For the first time in 27 years, Madison Memorial will have somebody other than Steve Collins on the sidelines as head coach. Ex-Memorial player and assistant coach Billy Wilson takes over for Collins, who retired last spring after helping the Spartans to a 26-4 record and runner-up finish in the WIAA Division 1 State Tournament. Collins, who won 519 games and three state championships during his remarkable career, took Wilson under his wings in recent seasons, knowing his time as head coach was coming to an end but also realizing he wanted to have a trusted protege in place to take over the tradition-rich program. Collins seems to have his guy in Wilson, who must replace five starters, but has some talented reserves capable of stepping up and keeping Memorial among the elite in the Big Eight Conference in KJ Cross (6-5), [player_tooltip player_id='2509460' first='Will' last='Lisowski-Semb'] (5-11), [player_tooltip player_id='2866900' first='Martin' last='Runde'] (6-0), [player_tooltip player_id='3561631' first='Gotti' last='Carreon'] (6-5) and [player_tooltip player_id='2509464' first='Jahcari' last='Boyd'] (6-2), among others. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->