Cooper High School has decided to stay in house to fill the boys’ basketball head coacing position.
The school named Justin Holthaus as the next boys’ basketball coach on Thursday. Holthaus slots over from the girls’ side, where he coached the past five seasons and guided the Lady Jags to four straight 9th Region titles. He led Cooper’s girls to a 128-30 record, the all-time winningest coach for the program that started in 2008.
“I am incredibly honored and excited to be named the head coach of Cooper Boys Basketball,” Holthaus said in a press release by the school. “This program has a proud tradition, and I’m committed to building on that foundation. I’m looking forward
to continuing to work with Cooper’s elite student athletes, supporting their growth on and off the court, and representing the Cooper Community with pride.”
Prior to coaching the Lady Jaguars the last five seasons, Holthaus was an assistant under Tim Sullivan on the boys team, on staff for the Jaguars 2017 state runner-up run and a part of six district championships.
“I am confident that Coach Holthaus will bring the same level of excellence,
energy, and vision to the Varsity Boys Basketball program as he has consistently
demonstrated throughout his career,” Athletic Director Randy Borchers said.
After winning a region title and advancing to the KHSAA Sweet 16 quarterfinals, Sullivan was non-renewed after being at the helm for 17 seasons and 298 victories and recently accepted the boys head coaching job at St. Henry.
Holthaus’ tenure with the girls program was unprecedented. The four straight 9th Region titles had never been done in region history on the girls side. He also led the Lady Jaguars to four straight 33rd District titles, four KHSAA Sweet 16 appearances, two Final Fours, and an Elite Eight finish. He is a three-time Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame Kentucky Coach of the Year, a two-time NKGBCA Division 1 Coach of the Year, and was named KABC 9th Region Coach of the Year in 2021. His 2024-2025 campaign alone featured a 9th Region Championship, 33rd District Championship, Queen of the Commonwealth Tournament title, and a Sweet 16 Quarterfinal berth.
He’ll inherit a team that went 24-6 with a 33rd District and 9th Region title, but loses four starters and five seniors on the 16-man roster. They’ll potentially have starter Roman Combs back, who averaged 10 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Jaguars this past season as a sophomore. From there, it will almost be a complete reset, Julienne Knuckles and Parker Lutz the only other potential returnees that played in more than 20 games last season.