Westwood High hires basketball coach with state championship success

Westwood went with a proven winner to fill its basketball coaching vacancy.

Ty Baumgardner was hired as the boys’ basketball coach at Westwood. He replaces Jeff Dibattisto, who became the athletic director at Dreher. Baumgardner's hire was approved by the Richland Two School Board on Tuesday night.

"We are excited to see Ty take over the program and keep the program going at a high level, Westwood athletic director Jason Powell said.” “He has been a highly successful high school basketball boach, having won over 73 percent of his games and has won a state championship. He is more importantly a high quality individual with high morals and he will fit right in with our strong coaching staff here at Westwood."

Baumgardner has won more than 300 games at stops in Georgia and North Carolina. He spent the last four seasons at Collins High in Suwanee, Ga., where he was 82-28 and had a pair of 20-win seasons. Collins High went 20-8 this year and lost in the first round of the Georgia Class 7A playoffs.

Before arriving at Collins High School, Baumgardner coached 10 seasons at Olympic High School in Charlotte, N.C. He led the Trojans to a 30-0 record and the 2013 Class 4A title. The team finished nationally ranked by MaxPreps and USA Today.

Baumgardner went 229-63 at Olympic, including 109-9 in his final four seasons. The Kansas native also coached in college at Emporia State (Kan.), and Elon before getting into high school coaching.

"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to be the next men's basketball coach at Westwood," Baumgardner said. "Dr. Guy and Coach Powell's vision for the men's basketball program was one of the key factors that went into my decision.."

Baumgardner inherits a talented Westwood team, which tied for the Region 3-4A title with state champion Ridge View. The Redhawks return all five starters from this year’s team including Region 3-4A Player of the Year Russell Jones.

The school will have a meet-and-greet with Baumgardner on Monday at 6 p.m. in the gym.

This story was originally published May 9, 2018 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Westwood High hires basketball coach with state championship success."