State-championship assistant coach to lead Richland Northeast boys basketball team
Christian Savage will get a second chance at being a high school basketball head coach.
The Ridge View assistant coach is going to be the new boys basketball coach at Richland Northeast High School. The move was to be approved at Tuesday’s Richland 2 School Board meeting.
Savage replaces Jacob Laurie, who has been the school’s coach for five seasons.
This is Savage’s second head coaching opportunity. He was the head coach at South Florence for two seasons from 2019-21.
Savage is a well-known name around Columbia basketball. He has been an assistant coach with Ridge View for two different stints and has won five state championships as an assistant with the Blazers.
Savage also is very involved on the AAU circuit and has been a part of the Upward Stars program for several years.
Midlands Basketball Job Openings
School — Former Coach — New Coach
ALA Blythewood — N/A (Beginning in 2026-27) — Al McIntosh
ALA Lexington — Tyson Bouknight — TBD
Gilbert — John Paul Sellers — Will Hickson
Pelion — Will Hickson — Neal Taylor
Richland Northeast — Jacob Lourie — Christian Savage
River Bluff — Ben Lee — Will Clarke
Spring Valley — Cypheus Bunton — Cam Lee
Swansea — David Smith (interim) — Derris Amaker
