Cary Cogdell resigns as Leo boys basketball head coach

One of the longest tenured head coaches in Northeast Indiana is moving on from his position.

Cary Cogdell announced Wednesday that he has resigned from the boys basketball head coach position at Leo High School.

Cogdell had been Leo’s head coach for 20 seasons, amassing a 282-185 record while leading the Lions. He has earned a lot of success at the helm, getting over the postseason title hump in 2020 with three straight championship seasons.

In the Covid-shortened 2019-2020 season, Cogdell’s team won the Sectional title to complete a 19-win season, the then second best win total under Cogdell behind a 21-3 effort in 2014-2015. That 2015 season ended prematurely in the first game of Sectionals to a Bishop Dwenger team that went on to play in the semi state round.

Cogdell’s 2019-2020 team won 11 of their last 12 games and beat Bishop Luers, Woodlan and Concordia to win their first Sectional title under Cogdell.

“It choked me up a little bit, I’ll be honest,” Cogdell told Outside the Huddle after that title. “Saturday really got the monkey off of our back. All of those other guys from our former teams wanted the same thing, and I have heard from a lot of them since we won. It means a ton to me.”

But, he would have to wait another year to expand on that title due to the pandemic. And in 2020-2021, he and Leo certainly made the best of their opportunities, posting a 24-5 record, surviving a heavy handed Bishop Luers in the Sectional final and then beating Bishop Dwenger for their second straight Sectional crown. A week later, they topped Mississinewa and NorthWood at New Castle to win a Regional title.

“The low of not getting a chance to play [last year] was very disappointing obviously,” Cogdell said to Outside the Huddle after the Regional title win. “Then to get back here was tough. Our Sectional was tough, we had to grind to get out of it. Obviously tonight, we had to grind again and find a way to win.”

The following week, Leo upset South Bend St. Joe after trailing by double digits; a Blake Davison buzzer beater sending them to the state finals. There, they fell just short of Silver Creek and their Division one post duo.

In 2021-22, Cogdell was the Outside the Huddle Coach of the Year after going 21-6 and winning a third straight Sectional and second straight Regional crown. That team, in a partial rebuild, lost to a hot shooting Mishawaka Marian in the semi state round. But the three year stretch was a monumental one for Cogdell and the legacy of a Leo basketball program he once played for.

After graduating from the school in 1994, Cogdell went on to play at Saint Francis, but returned to Leo as an assistant coach shortly after graduating college in 1998. He served on the staff for three seasons before a head coaching opportunity opened up for him at South Adams High School where he coached for two seasons and then returned to Leo an assistant for another season before getting the head Leo job.

Overall, Cogdell’s career coaching record sits at 293-215.