Story courtesy of Centenary College Sports Information
SHREVEPORT, La. – Adam Walsh, head basketball coach for the Centenary Gents, has stepped down, Director of Athletics and Recreation Dr. Bob Bunnell announced Wednesday, May 17.
Walsh has accepted the position of head men’s basketball coach at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia.
“In my first meeting with Adam, it was clear how much he loved being a coach at Centenary,” said Bunnell. “However, an opportunity to coach at your hometown university and where you grew up attending games is hard to pass up. We are sad to lose him as our basketball coach, but we thank him for all of his years of service for the College and wish him the best as coach of the Hornets.”
Beginning with the Gents basketball program as an assistant coach for the 2007-08 season, Walsh became the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I for the 2010-11 season. Since the Maroon and White joined the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2012-13 season, he has put the conference on notice with four Conference Players of the Year, three Newcomers of the Year, five All-Americans, six All-District selections, 19 All-Conference honorees, and 19 SCAC Player of the Week recognitions in five seasons.
“I am grateful and have been blessed by my 10 years at Centenary College and in the Shreveport-Bossier community. The relationships and friendships with those on campus and in the community will be forever memorable," said Walsh. "I am grateful to (former athletic director) Tom Tallach and (former President) David Rowe for trusting me and giving me the chance to be a head coach for the first time through a period of immense change. I am thankful for the alumni and fans that embraced our teams and served as great sounding boards as we worked to establish our program throughout the community. I believe that the Ladies and Gents are poised for sustained success in the SCAC. Finally, I have to say thank you to each young man that I had the chance to coach, even for one year, as you have helped to shape my career and the lives of those that you played with. This is a very bittersweet time for my wife, Nicole, and me as we make this transition. We thank you again for the opportunity to serve you here at Centenary. We'll be forever grateful for the experiences and our times together!
"Once a Gent, Always a Gent!"
The 2014-15 team won a share of the SCAC Regular Season Championship, the first regular season title for the Gents in basketball since 1990. Walsh’s 2013-14 squad improved from 9-15 the year before to 18-10 and a berth in the SCAC Tournament Championship Game after being selected to finish sixth in the preseason conference poll.
Walsh finished with an 84-100 record in his seven seasons with the Gents, including an 83-71 record after a 1-29 mark his first season in 2010-2011.
Also under Walsh’s tutelage, Centenary is one of only five schools in the Pelican State that can claim a First, Second, or Third Team All-Louisiana player in each of the past six years. Centenary claimed both SCAC Player and Freshman of the Year from 2013-15, which is believed to be the first time in NCAA history a team has accomplished that feat in men’s basketball.
Successful players under Walsh’s guidance include 2013 and 2014 SCAC Player of the Year Jonathon Blount and 2015 and 2017 Player of the Year James Sapp. Honors for Blount include two All-American selections, two National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District honors, 2013-14 LSWA First-Team All-Louisiana distinction, 2013-14 LABC Small College Player of the Year, two First Team All-Conference selections, and five SCAC Player of the Week selections.
Blount was a member of the Araberri Basketball Club in Spain, the 16th person to have played for Walsh either as a head coach or assistant to showcase their talents in professional basketball.
Sapp was the first SCAC Player of the Year in non-consecutive seasons. Honors for Sapp include All-American accolades by DIII News in both 2015 and 2017, as well as an All-American nod by the NABC in 2017. He received All-Region honors by both D3Hoops.com and NABC.
The search for the next Gents head basketball coach begins immediately.
