High School

The high school basketball coaching carousel continues to spin in Montgomery County

Chase Rieder is named as the new head coach at Walter Johnson, while Tom Sheahin steps down at Sherwood

Brandy Simms

Chase Rieder, who is an 11-year coaching veteran in Montgomery County, has been named the new boys basketball head coach at Walter Johnson High School.
Chase Rieder, who is an 11-year coaching veteran in Montgomery County, has been named the new boys basketball head coach at Walter Johnson High School. / Walter Johnson athletics

The musical chairs continue to move around Montgomery County, Maryland basketball coaching circles. 

Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda has named Chase Rieder as the new head coach of the boys' basketball program. 

Rieder, who has coached in the county for more than eleven years, spent last season as an assistant coach at Walter Johnson. He has also served as the head coach of Walter Johnson’s junior varsity boys basketball team. 

“My roots are deeply embedded in the WJ community and I am humbled at the opportunity to lead the basketball team to success,” said Rieder. “This is truly a full circle moment for me as the former boys JV basketball head coach and assistant boys varsity basketball coach, as well as a former student and varsity basketball player at WJ. 

“Combining all of those elements together provides me with a unique vantage point and solid foundation to lead the team into the future.” 

Rieder also served a three-year stint as the head coach at Northwest High School in Germantown, Maryland from 2021-2024 where he led the Jaguars to their first ever 4A West Regional Championship during the 2021-22 campaign. 

In addition to coaching various other sports at WJ, Rieder has also worked for the NBA’s Washington Wizards as a team attendant since 2007 and had the opportunity to learn from professional basketball players, coaches, and staff at the highest level. 

Meanwhile, Tom Sheahin announced on social media that he’s stepping down as the head coach at Sherwood after leading the boys basketball program to a 25-2 record this year including an appearance in the Maryland 3A state championship game. 

“After 34 years of being a Head Coach, I have decided to step down today,” Sheahin posted on his X account on April 30. “I leave with a career record of 495-201. I could not have done it without great Assistant Coaches and Great JV coaches. I have coached tremendous players who I can’t thank enough. Love Sherwood/Community.” 

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Brandy Simms
BRANDY SIMMS

Brandy Simms is an award-winning sports journalist who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the DMV for more than 30 years including the NFL, NBA and WNBA. He has an extensive background in both print and broadcast media and has freelanced for SLAM, Dime Magazine and The Washington Post. A former Sports Editor for The Montgomery County Sentinel, Simms captured first place honors in the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association 2006 Editorial Contest for a sports column entitled “Remembering Len Bias.” The Oakland, California native began his postgraduate career at WMAL-AM Radio in Washington, D.C. where he produced the market’s top-rated sports talk show “Sports Call” with host Ken Beatrice. A former Sports Director for “Cable News 21,” Simms also produced sports at WJLA-TV and served as host of the award-winning “Metro Sports Connection” program on Montgomery Community Television. Simms is a frequent contributor to various radio and television sports talk shows in the Washington, D.C. market. In 2024, he made his national television debut on “The Rich Eisen Show” on the Roku Channel. He began contributing to High School On SI in 2025.

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