Girls Basketball
Varsity
HC: Margot Denton (m.denton@ompschool.org)
Junior Varsity (Blue and Gold)
HC: Mike Kanitz (kanifami@aol.com)
Assistants: Leighten Koepke, Tyler Eising
Athletic Director – Elementary/Middle School
Kelly Coffman (kcoffman@gtacs.org)
Middle School
8th Grade Coach: Mark DeNoyelles (mden2112@gmail.com)
7th Grade Coach: Mike Lesinski (lesinskimin@gmail.com)
About The Program
Philosophy: Success is a Choice
Basketball is a team sport that continuously tests an individual’s character throughout a season. We will achieve success by choosing to W.I.N. (Focus on What’s Important Now). We will focus on the fundamentals, choosing to develop a strong character foundation, and choosing to focus on the things we can control…all while becoming the best versions of ourselves. It’s important for our program to embrace the W.I.N. process and what it takes to be successful in school, in basketball, AND in life.
Traverse City St. Francis Girls Basketball has a rich history of success and has been building off that in the recent seasons. Although, the success of our program will not solely be measured by its win-loss record. We certainly play to win games, but success will come if we all choose to work together in mastering a strong character foundation and a W.I.N. mentality. Alongside our willingness to make smart, impactful choices and focusing on the things we can control, we will utilize Christian values and John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success as our guides.
The season runs from early-November to late-March, with offseason opportunities from April to October, and team organized events & tournaments in June and July each year. Youth camps can be found at the website link below when they are available, and usually run annually in the Spring & Fall. Updates throughout the year can also be found on the team’s Facebook page, see below.
Website: https://www.gtacsgirlsbasketball.org/
“Love One Another.” – John 13:34
Boys Basketball
Varsity
HC: Sean Finnegan (sfinnegan84@gmail.com)
Assistants: Chuck Schuba & Marek Laucky
Junior Varsity
HC: Zack McGuire (zack.mcguire@icloud.com)
Assistant: Ben Horner
Freshman
HC: Dave Shutler (dshutler24@hotmail.com)
Assistant: Andrew Schaub
Middle School (7th & 8th)
Director: Lyle Cheever (coachcheevs@gmail.com)
8th HC: Lyle Cheever
7th HC: Ben Horner
6th Coaches: Tyler Eising, Brian Hagerty & Andrew Schaub
Youth & Skill Development (K-5th)
Director: Chuck Schuba (cschuba@swishhouse.com)
About The Program
Traverse City St. Francis Boys Basketball has a rich history of success and has been building off that in the past 7 seasons under the current leadership, winning almost 70% of their games in the past 8 years. In the past 8 years, prior to the dissolving of the Lake Michigan Conference in 2024, the Gladiators had amassed a record of 87-11 with 5 league titles and at one point a streak of 47 straight league wins. Our program has been State Runner-Up twice, 2012 & 2023, with 4 Final Four appearances in 1930, 1974, 2012 & 2023. The boys have also excelled in the classroom earning Academic All-State Honors for each of the last 8 years, and in the past 2 years were ranked #1 & #3 respectively, in all of Division 3 throughout the state of Michigan.
The 2025-26 season is upon us now and the Gladiators are excited for the potential this group has. Our second season as an “independent”, without a league, is promising to be an exciting one, with a very tough schedule to prepare us for the postseason. The Glads have 3 seniors this season, led by Louis Rhein, George Heeringa & Will Sutton. They also have some strong talent from the Junior class and a couple Freshman on the team as well. Our 9th & JV teams are loaded with talent as well and we are looking forward to see them all grow. The game schedule is posted at the link below.
We are once again hosting an “Invite Tournament”, hosting Detroit Henry Ford, GR West Catholic & Saginaw Nouvel. You can also mark your calendar for the 4th Annual Northern Michigan Showcase, where we host 5 games, including teams from all corners of the lower & upper peninsula of Michigan. This event is on Saturday, February 14th, starting at 12pm. You won’t want to miss it!
The season runs from mid-November to late-March, with off-season opportunities from April to October, and team organized events & tournaments in June & July each year. Youth camps can be found at the link below when they are available, and run annually in the Spring & Fall on Saturday mornings. For more information, please email the appropriate Coach or Director from the list above.
Traverse City Saint Francis Basketball is a family that will work hard and unselfishly to excel as a team and a program. We expect and demand discipline, communication, and excellence in everything we do. We will lead by example in our school, church, and community, by our faith in God and our actions towards others.
Youth Camps – Stay tuned for spring Camp info.
Game Schedule– MHSAA Schedule
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31