Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
LOGAN Logan High School girls basketball coach Kevin Gertz announced his resignation on Tuesday after 14 seasons leading the Lady Wildcats program.
Gertz, who suffered an ischemic stroke in June, announced on Facebook Tuesday morning that he had resigned from his head coaching position Monday afternoon.
“Yesterday, I did the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my coaching career, I resigned my position as head girls basketball coach,” Gertz said in the post. “To my current players, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it back to you. To my former players, thank you for all the hard work and making the Lady Wildcats relevant.”
“To all the men and women that have helped us along the way, I truly appreciate each and every one of you,” Gertz said. “Mentally, I am just not where I believe these girls need a head coach to be.”
In 14 seasons as head coach at Logan, Gertz complied a 182-143 record and four state tournament appearances.
In his first season on the job, Gertz took over a team that had won just four games the prior season and led them to a 12-12 record in 2011. Three years later, Gertz and the Lady Wildcats advanced to the Class AAA state tournament where they finished runner-up to state champion Parkersburg South.
Logan finished 12-8 in 2014 and 14-6 in 2015 and after back-to-back 7-15 seasons in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, the Lady Wildcats were once again in the state tournament, this time as a Class AA school, falling to Wayne in the quarterfinals that year.
The following two seasons saw Logan finish 15-10 and 10-15 in 2019 and 2020 respectively, then the Lady Wildcats qualified for the state tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
Logan went 12-4 in an abbreviated 2021 season shortened by COVID-19. The Lady Wildcats were a fourth seed in the Class AAA tournament, defeating PikeView before falling to eventual state champion Fairmont Senior in the semifinals.
The following season, the Lady Wildcats reached the pinnacle of Gertz’s coaching career, defeating Philip Barbour in the quarterfinals and rallying to defeat North Marion in the semifinals to earn a rematch with Fairmont Senior in the championship game.
In a defensive battle on an icy Saturday night inside the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, the Lady Wildcats emerged victorious defeating the Polar Bears, 27-26, to claim the school’s and Logan County’s first ever state championship in girls basketball.
In what would be his last two seasons as head coach, the Lady Wildcats finished with a record of 11-12 in 2023 and were 13-12 last season.
‘To all of our supporters, you have no idea what you mean and meant to our program,” Gertz said. “I apologize that I am not able to continue this great run with our program.”
The focus now shifts to hiring a new coach for the 2024-25 season. Last season, the Lady Wildcats did not have one senior on the team, and with a move from Class AAA to Class AA, many feel the Lady Wildcats are contenders in Class AA and could be one of the teams to unseat two-time reigning state champion Wyoming East.
“I will be there in spirit to all the games I can. I just can’t do it at this time,” Gertz said. “Logan County and Logan High School, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me the opportunity to be so close to some of the greatest young people I know.”