Change continues to be the watchword around Northern Kentucky as some key local sports figures are on the move. Athletic directors, coaches and players are in the news along with the history-making Northern Kentucky University baseball team. It’s all here in the fastest 1,000 words in sports.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT WALTON-VERONA
Ryan Borkowski has replaced Kyle Bennett as Walton-Verona High School athletic director. Borkowski was named to the position last week. Bennett, a Walton-Verona graduate, recently resigned after 30 years at the school. He served 13 years as boys basketball coach and the past 16 as athletic director.
“I do have big shoes to fill,” Borkowski said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Borkowski comes to the position with experience on the Walton-Verona coaching staff. He was most successful as boys basketball assistant under head coach Grant Brannen, now the principal at St. Henry. With Borkowski, Walton-Verona won the 2019 8th Region championship and a Sweet 16 state tournament game.
Borkowski also coached boys golf and most recently boys and girls tennis at Walton-Verona. Additionally, he was the school’s intramural sports coordinator. He’s also been involved with youth sports, primarily basketball through coaching, camps and officiating.
Borkowski, a 2006 Boone County graduate, has been a teacher for 13 years. The last 10 have been at Walton-Verona. He taught business the past three years after being a special education teacher. He graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2010. Borkowski furthered his education at Georgetown College and Campbellsville University where he received Master’s Degrees. His wife also teaches in the Walton-Verona school district and the family lives with their two children in Verona.
The jump to athletic director removes Borkowski from the classroom where he provided a lasting impact on countless students.
“I’ll be moving from the classroom to this position fulltime,” he said. “It’s a lot of work and I’m getting started this week.”
The move to AD also takes Borkowski away from basketball camp activity, which he truly loves. It’s a passion he shares with lifelong Boone County High School friend David McFarland. He’s a former Northern Kentucky University basketball player and one-time Ryle boys basketball coach.
“I work his basketball camps and ref his winter league and I love doing that. But unfortunately, I’ll have to stop,” Borkowski said. “It’s tough. He and I go way back. We grew up on the same street on Mountain View Court in the Farmview neighborhood in Union. We were one street away from going to Ryle but we both went to Boone County. We’ll have to figure out other ways to stay in touch.”
NEW BEARCATS FOOTBALL COACH IN THE WORKS
One of Ryan Borkowski’s first items of business at Walton-Verona is hiring a new football coach. Jeff Barth resigned earlier in May after 15 seasons to take a teaching position at Ludlow High School.
“We’re looking to interview starting Tuesday because we’re in a bit of a time crunch,” said Borkowski. “We hope to make a hire this week. But I don’t want to make a hire just to be quick about it.”
Borkowski said he’s getting help as the school makes a key decision in his early days as athletic director.
“We have a good list. I know the people interviewing for the position,” he said. “The search committee and I are researching the candidates. Hopefully, the right coach walks in the door this week.”
NKU BASEBALL IN FIRST COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
NKU’s baseball team plays Tennessee Friday in a 2024 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship first-round game at the Knoxville Regional. It’s one of 16 regional brackets. It’s a double-elimination format. No. 4 seed NKU (35-22) plays overall No. 1 Tennessee (50-11) at 7 p.m. NKU is making its first appearances in the 64-team field.
The Norse won their first Horizon League title, routing Youngstown State 23-5 in Saturday’s championship game at Wright State. Norse senior outfielder Treyvin Moss, who went 3-for-7 and drove in five runs in the final, was tournament MVP. He’s batting .388 on the season. Starting pitcher Clay Brock pitched 7+ innings and nailed down the win. He improved to 8-3 for third-year head coach Dizzy Peyton.
NKU is led by a bevy of all-Horizon League selections, named May 21. Peyton is co-coach of the year. Liam McFadden-Ackman is league player of the year. He is the second straight Norse earning the honor following Noah Fisher in 2023. NKU led the Horizon with eight all-league selections, five on the first team. They are McFadden-Ackman (1B), John Odom (2B), Cleary Simpson (3B), Treyvin Moss (OF) and Tanner Gillis (SP).
Norse second-team picks include Tyler Shaneyfelt (OF), Mitch Wood (DH/Flex) and Clay Brock (SP). Jake Paulick is an all-freshman team pick. McFadden-Ackman is a Sportsmanship Award finalist.
NEWPORT NAMES NEW FOOTBALL COACH
Paul Wiggins is the new head football coach at Newport, replacing Ryan Hahn who resigned after two seasons. Wiggins is also an eight-year middle school teacher at Newport, his alma mater.
It’s Wiggins’ second stint as a head coach. He put together a 67-43 record and enjoyed seven winning seasons in 10 years at Bishop Brossart. He and the school parted ways in January after a 5-6 Mustangs finish. Wiggins’ previous Brossart teams finished 9-3 in 2022 and 12-1 in 2021. Wiggins guided the Mustangs to a perfect 10-0 regular season in 2021 and led them to the regional final.
The former Class A District 5 coach of the year orchestrated one of the greatest local turnarounds for Brossart. The Mustangs finished 9-2 one season after going 1-8 in 2014. He left the Mustangs after winning three district championships including their first in 2016.
SIMON KENTON COACH REJOINING NORSE
Brenden Stowers once again is joining forces with NKU where he was a basketball standout and men’s basketball assistant coach. Stowers resigned as Simon Kenton girls basketball coach. He heads back to NKU to join the staff of newly-hired women’s basketball coach Jeff Hans.
“I’m excited to be back,” said Stowers. “I played at NKU. I coached at NKU. My dad played there. It’s a special place to me.”
Stowers’ brother, Jordan Stowers, also played at NKU. Their mother was a Norse cheerleader. Their father, Jeff Stowers, the longtime Simon Kenton girls basketball coach, starred in basketball. Brenden Stowers applied to be an NKU assistant under former women’s coach Camryn Volz, who left the school in April. But it didn’t work out. He was previously an assistant at Xavier and Thomas More.
Brenden Stowers took over for his father as Simon Kenton head coach in 2022. He led the Pioneers to a 19-15 record including an 8th Region title his first season. The Pioneers finished 21-11 in 2023-24 and won their first district title since 2018. A 1999 Simon Kenton graduate, Brenden was his father’s assistant for the better part of 13 years at the school. Like his father, he starred collegiately at NKU where he was an NCAA Division II second-team all-American. He attempted a professional basketball career before taking the coaching path.
COACH HANS ADDS TO STAFF
Brenden Stowers joins former Xavier assistant Molly Bateman and former NKU and Thomas More assistant Gabby Johnson for coach Hans. Bateman was at Xavier the past three seasons. Prior to Xavier, she assisted at Detroit Mercy, Mount Union and Averett University. She was one of the top-30 up-and-coming women’s basketball coaches in 2019.
Johnson, a former Thomas More player, assisted at South Dakota the last two years. Johnson was head women’s basketball coach for six seasons at Division III Dominican University. She made two Division I stops at Valparaiso and Butler as an assistant.
GULLETT GOES FROM HOLMES TO TAFT
Former Holmes boys soccer coach Austin Gullett is the new athletic director at Taft High School in Cincinnati. Gullett resigned at Holmes in March. He’s been Taft interim athletic director since then but had the interim tag removed this month. Gullett, a Holmes and NKU graduate, played soccer, football and baseball for the Bulldogs. He was boys head soccer coach the past two seasons.
SPEED READS
Lloyd Memorial football standout Isaiah Sebastian received his first college offer from Thomas More. Sebastian, a 6-foot-1 rising senior, rushed 80 times for 741 yards as a junior. He caught 20 passes for 240 yards. He also completed 30 of 55 passes for 454 yards with five TDs. Sebastian scored 17 touchdowns including nine rushing, two receiving, one on an interception return and five on punt returns.
Highlands wide receiver Jackson Arnold received his first Division I football offer from Air Force. A 6-foot-3, 180-pound rising senior, Arnold was third on the Bluebirds last season with 25 catches. They went for 402 yards and eight TDs.
Newport’s Amontae Lowe picked up his second NCAA Division I basketball offer from Kent State. Lowe, a 5-foot-11 guard, was part of the regular rotation on the repeat 9th Region champion. He averaged 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds as a freshman on a roster full of other Division I-caliber players.