Successful AC Flora basketball coach leaving. Here’s here is headed for new job
A.C. Flora High School boys basketball coach Joshua Staley is on the move. He’s not going far for his next job.
“We wish Coach Staley, his wife Alena, and his entire family best wishes and good luck in their future endeavors,” A.C. Flora said March 30 in a statement announcing that Staley is leaving the boys basketball program.
Those future endeavors land him at nearby Ridge View High School — just 15 miles from the Flora campus. On Tuesday, Staley was named the new boys basketball coach at Ridge View. The hire was approved at Richland 2 school board meeting on April 26.
Staley will be introduced at a press conference Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
Staley replaces Yerrick Stoneman, who announced in February that he was leaving after six years to take over nationally-ranked Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.
Stoneman led the Blazers to four state championships, including the school’s first in Class 5A this season.
Staley led A.C. Flora to the Class 4A championship game this year before losing to Wilson. It was the Falcons’ third title appearance since taking over the program before the 2014-15 season. A.C. Flora lost in the 2015 3A championship game before winning it all in 2016.
“Our program has excelled under his leadership, and during his tenure we have reached the South Carolina state finals three times while winning in 2016,” AC Flora said in its Wednesday statement. “During his eight-year stint as our head coach, we have produced three SCBCA state-wide Players of the Year and 8 Region Players of the Year.”
Before taking over at A.C. Flora, Staley coached the Orangeburg-Wilkinson girls program and led the Bruinettes to three state championship appearances. He has a career record of 371-107 between stops at AC Flora and O-W.
Ridge View is moving back down to Class 4A next year in the 2022-24 SC High School League realignment and will be in the same region as AC Flora. So that means Staley would face his old school twice in each of the next two seasons.
Ridge View is losing eight players off its championship team, and the status of GG Jackson for next season remains unknown at this point. Jackson, a junior, is the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2023 and has a few options on the table. He could return to Ridge View for his senior season; reclassify to the Class of 2022 and go to college this summer; or possibly move on with Stoneman to Oak Hill and play his senior year there.
Midlands basketball coaching changes
School — Former Coach — New Coach
AC Flora boys — Joshua Staley — TBA
Camden boys — Ron McKie — Sterling Council
Cardinal Newman girls — Asia Dozier — TBA
Columbia boys — Casey Geter — Samuel Brown
Northside Christian boys — Jason Harman — TBA
Ridge View boys — Yerrick Stoneman — Joshua Staley
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 2:54 PM.
