State-championship assistant coach to lead Richland Northeast boys basketball
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 approved at Tuesday’s Richland 2 School Board meeting.
Savage replaces Jacob Laurie, who had been the school’s coach for five seasons.
“It means everything to me to come back and be a head coach in Columbia,” Savage told The State. “It is a blessing, and I am just thankful and grateful. I am at a loss for words really. ... I am glad Richland Northeast gave me an opportunity to be a head coach again.”
This is Savage’s second head-coaching opportunity. He was the head coach at South Florence for two seasons from 2019-21.
The 33-year-old Savage has a well-known name around Columbia basketball and has been an assistant coach with Ridge View for two different stints (2016-19, 2023-26). He has been a part of five state championships as an assistant with the Blazers.
Savage, a Dutch Fork graduate, also was an assistant for a year at Keenan High School and is very involved on the AAU circuit and has been a part of the Upward Stars program for several years.
Savage credits coaches whom he has worked with, including Yerrick Stoneman, Joshua Staley, Zach Norris, Curt Wheeler and others such as John Combs and Carey Rich for being able to learn things from them.
Savage also has been an individual trainer and worked with Dillon Jones and Julian Phillips, who are both in the NBA.
“I just learned so much being a part with these great coaches,” Savage said. “I learned about the game of basketball and how to run a program from all those guys and plan on implementing a little bit of this and that from all of those.”
Richland Northeast went 7-19 this season and missed the playoffs. The Cavs will be in Region 4-4A in 2026-28 realignment with AC Flora, Dreher, Lancaster, Lugoff-Elgin and Westwood.
Savage said he is looking forward to working with the players over the summer and taking them to different team camps.
“I am excited to get in the gym with those kids and grind with them,” Savage said. “We are going to spend the whole month of June just on player development, working on their skillset and teaching them to play the game the right way.”
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
This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 7:47 PM.
