Former state championship coach lands new opportunity at Cardinal Newman
Megan Assey has landed her next coaching opportunity.
The former Spring Valley High School head coach will be the new girls basketball coach at Cardinal Newman. Assey replaces Barry Kesler, who resigned to take a job in Newberry County. Kesler was head coach at Newberry Academy before coming to Cardinal Newman.
Assey’s move comes four months after she resigned as Spring Valley coach after nine seasons there.
Assey said a combination of factors went into her decision to leave Spring Valley, including health and being more present with her two children and husband Charles, who is the principal at Cardinal Newman. At the time, she didn’t rule out a return to coaching in her future.
Assey was diagnosed with breast cancer over the summer and had surgery in July. She coached the entire season this year.
Now landing at Cardinal Newman, she and her husband, the former Cardinal Newman baseball coach, will now be at the same school for the first time in her career.
“This was undoubtedly divinely orchestrated. When I made the decision to step away from coaching in the spring, it was with full intent of pausing to pour that time and energy back into my family,” Assey said Tuesday. “When Coach Eudy (Cardinal Newman athletic director) reached out, it became clear that those pieces of my life didn’t have to remain mutually exclusive.
“For the past twelve years, our family has been moving in different directions, often on separate schedules. This opportunity brings us together — under one roof every evening during the school year — while still allowing me to remain connected to the game I love.”
Assey won 161 games during her time with the Vikings and guided the program to a pair of state championship appearances in 2018-19. Spring Valley defeated Wade Hampton, 49-37, for the 2018 Class 4A championship. It was the sixth state title in school history.
Assey was named USA Today’s S.C. Girls Basketball Coach of the Year that season. The Vikings were ranked No. 9 in the country in the final USA Today poll that season.
Assey will look to build back up the Cards’ program, which has struggled the past two seasons since winning four straight state championships from 2019-22.
Other Midlands coaching moves
In other coaching moves in the area, Chapin baseball and Northside Christian girls basketball have announced hires.
Chapin hired Brookland-Cayce pitching coach Dell Lever to replace hall of fame coach Scott McLeod, who retired after this season. Lever has been an assistant at several area schools, including Dutch Fork, Lexington, White Knoll and Ben Lippen.
Northside Christian hired Jamaal Brown as its new girls basketball coach. Brown replaces Jordan Leath, who left to become the River Bluff girls basketball coach. Brown coached at Brookland-Cayce last season.
Midlands high school basketball openings
Boys basketball
School — Former Coach — New Coach
Brookland-Cayce — Robert Wells — Larry Davis
Gray Collegiate — Carlos Powell — Dion Bethea
Lexington — Elliott Pope — Robert Wells
Girls basketball
School — Former Coach — New Coach
Cardinal Newman — Ben Kesler — Megan Assey
Brookland-Cayce — Jamaal Brown — Terrence Gibson
Chapin — Chad Boland — Terence Jones
Hammond — Roshan Myers — Mark Goddard
Irmo — Trina Wagstaff — Coretta Ferguson
Lower Richland — Aaron Lucas — Morgan Stroman
Northside Christian — Jordan Leath — Jamaal Brown
Ridge View — Terrence Gibson — Aaron Lucas
River Bluff — Candice Cobb — Jordan Leath
Spring Valley — Megan Assey — Megan Davis
White Knoll — Coretta Ferguson — Shaunzinski Gortman
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 9:27 AM.
