Three-time defending 4A state champion Valley hires new head coach

Top assistant named new head coach of Valley boys basketball

Jayden McGregory will be one of the key pieces back for new Valley head boys basketball coach Brian Ricke. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The reigning three-time Class 4A boys basketball state champion, West Des Moines Valley, has a new head coach.

B.J. Windhorst, who led the Tigers to four championships overall and 215 wins over an 11-year span, resigned following a victory in the 4A title game over Waukee Northwest. He went 215-55 with four consecutive 20-plus win seasons and six of those years overall.

Replacing Windhorst will be Brian Ricke, according to a release from the West Des Moines Community School District. Ricke has served as an assistant for the past two years.

Along with coaching at Valley, Ricke was a team manager for the University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team and an assistant at William Penn University.

“Coach Ricke was a key part of our last two state championships,” Windhorst said in a press release. “He brings energy to the team, and his practice, game prep and rapport with the players are top level.

“The team respects him and knows he’ll work hard to put them in a position to be successful.”

Ricke will be working with a mostly new cast of players led by Jayden McGregory, one of the top football recruits in the state. McGregory is set to return alongside Colton Roemmich and Keane Jorgensen as the Tigers look to replace Kiki Deng, Trevin Jirak, Zay Robinson and Marcus McGregor.

More Iowa High School Sports Headlines

feed