Dan Albrinck is coming into a good situation on the Hill as the new head coach of the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds girls basketball team.
Albrinck takes over a team with a proud history that finished 17-11 last year and lost in the 9th Region quarterfinals to eventual two-time defending region champion Cooper. All but two seniors from that team in guard Joelle Kinnett and forward Natalie Haigis.
The Thoroughbreds finished 89-57 the previous five years under head coach Ralph Meyer. NewCath won All “A” 9th Region titles in 2020 and 2021. Meyer resigned after the season to spend more time with his family.
“I am honored and excited to take over this prestigious position at Newport Central Catholic and to continue the success of Coach Ralph Meyer,” Albrinck said. “This girls basketball program has a very bright future, and I am eager to lead the program in the future.”
Albrinck does not have any varsity head coaching experience, but has coached youth basketball teams at all levels for more than 20 years, according to a press release from the school. He’s a 1984 NewCath alum and graduated from Thomas More University in 1988 after playing two years there. Albrinck helped the Thoroughbreds to the 9th Region title his senior year.
“We look forward to Coach Albrinck building on the excellent tradition we have here at NewCath,” said Jeff Schulkens, NewCath Director of Athletics. “And we are excited to welcome him back.”
The big advantage Albrinck has is experience raising teen-agers. Albrinck has five kids including an eighth grade daughter Alaina, who saw action in 18 games last year. Albrinck saw every game last year from the stands.
“It does help you coach them when you have raised a couple yourself,” Albrinck said. “It helps you understand when you can be tough on them and when to back off a little bit.”
NewCath has been known for its solid on-ball defense. Albrinck said he’d like to be able to pressure teams all over the court scoring in transition off turnovers. Albrinck said he needs to improve the team’s depth in order to do that. Then in the halfcourt, he said he’ll employ a number of offensive and defensive schemes to give opponents different looks.
The Thoroughbreds return the region’s leading scorer in sophomore Caroline Eaglin. She averaged 24.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The likes of junior guard Delaney Green along with sophomore twin forwards Jaylee and Katelyn Brannen also return. Green averaged 7.1 points per game and Jaylee Brannen averaged 7.0 a contest. The Brannen twins are the returning leading rebounders as they both pulled down 5.2 boards a contest.
Albrinck said NewCath has its largest freshman class in recent years coming in next year. The school recently launched a $13 Million Looking Up Capital Campaign with $7.9 designated for the construction of a new multi-purpose on-campus athletic complex.
“As that continues to grow and progress, having more students at the school will not only help the girls basketball program, but every program over the next few years,” Albrinck said. “That’s very exciting.”
NewCath last won the region championship in 2014. The Thoroughbreds hope to better compete with the Highlands Bluebirds in the 36th District Tournament. Since that 2014 region and district championship, NewCath has only beaten Highlands three times, including twice in the 2021-2022 season with region player of the year Rylee Turner, who just completed her first year at Thomas More. The Thoroughbreds won the district in ’22, the first since ’14.
NewCath has won just two region tournament games since 2014, including a win over Ludlow in the region quarterfinals in 2022. Albrinck said he believes the Thoroughbreds again can be competitive with region powers such as Cooper, Ryle and Dixie Heights as the girls get older and more mature.
Albrinck is following in his father Ron’s footsteps as a head basketball coach at NewCath. Ron coached the NewCath boys for five years leading NewCath to the region championship in 1973 before taking the principal job at St. Henry.