The Garrett girls basketball program is the latest to make a decision for their next head coach. At a school board meeting tonight, Wade Hantz was named the school’s new head girls basketball coach.
Hantz comes from a stint with the Angola girls program, where he was an assistant this past season under now-former Hornets head coach Dave Panning.
“The ability to lead young athletes and build something special together,” Hantz said of what his biggest draw has been to becoming a head coach. “Along with that I would say creating a culture that is successful not only in basketball but for players’ future lives.”
Prior to joining Angola’s girls basketball program, Hantz spent time on the boys side at both Snider and DeKalb under coach Jeremy Rauch. He becomes the second person from the Rauch coaching tree to be hired as an area head coach in the last week, joining new Prairie Heights coach Daniel Barnett. Garrett’s boys basketball coach, Logan Traylor, also comes from that particular coaching tree.
“I worked with him [Rauch] for two years at DeKalb and one year at Snider. He gave me my first opportunity in coaching and has been a huge mentor for me for the past 11 years,” Hantz said when talking of his biggest coaching mentors and supporters. “Logan Traylor and I connected about five years ago through Coach Rauch. He has been a huge influence in my coaching style. Brandon Durnell [of East Noble], his way of connecting with his players has helped me foster better relationships.”
Hantz was an assistant and freshman coach at DeKalb on the boys side from 2014-2016 before moving to Fremont to coach freshmen boys basketball for a season and then to Hamilton as the boys junior varsity coach for a season, finally reconnecting with Rauch at Snider during the 2018-2019 season. Hantz then spent two seasons as the 7th grade boys coach at Angola, winning the Jr NECC conference title his second year in that role before spending one season as the Angola boys freshman coach.
In 2023, Hantz moved to the girls side of things with Angola. He started as the coach of the 8th grade girls, where he again captured a Jr NECC conference title. He spent this past season as the JV coach for the Hornet girls.
That all brings him to Garrett, to compete with an area that he is quite familiar with from different times in his career.
“The tradition is unlike most in the area. In the past 25 years, they have had incredible success. I want to get the program back to that elite level. The community is very strong and craves success,” Hantz said of what was Garrett’s draw to him. “The administration and I have a similar vision for the program. Lastly, they return two all conference players in Sarah DePew and Emma Coffman that are solid players to build around.”
Garrett finished 5-18 this past season, its second under Bodey. The program returns its top two scorers in DePew and Coffman, as Hantz noted. DePew averaged a team high 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds during her junior season and was named All-NECC. Coffman, a freshman, averaged 11.7 points and 3.5 assists per game as she was named All-NECC Honorable Mention and to Outside the Huddle’s All-Freshman team.
The Railroaders’ last postseason success came in the 2022-23 season, when the program won a Sectional under coach Bob Lapadot, one season after making a run to the semi state round. The program went 14-12 in that 2023 Sectional season under Lapadot, which was his last. From 2018-2023, the program had five straight winning seasons.
Hantz becomes just the third head coach for Garrett girls in the last 15 years.
“Be coachable and control what you can control; your attitude and effort,” Hantz added about his biggest focus for his new players at Garrett.
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