Tyler Bates was named the head coach of the Loudonville Girls Basketball program in the spring of 2013. Upon his hiring, Bates was the youngest head coach in the state of Ohio at only 22 years old. Under Bates’ guidance, the Redbirds finished with 20+ wins (2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019) in back-to-back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. The success of his teams has helped him earn coach of the year recognition from the Ashland Times Gazette, Wooster Daily Record, Northeast Inland District and Mid-Buckeye Conference. In the spring of 2019 – Bates was named to the WBCA 30 Under 30 Team – an award given by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association to 30 of the best young coaches in the country. Upon winning the award – Bates was only the 2nd HS coach ever and the 1st from Ohio. Bates’ teams have earned state rankings from the Ohio Girls Basketball Report and Ohio Prep Sportswriters associations. During the 2017-2018 season – the Redbirds became the first team in the history of Ashland County to participate in the prestigious Classic in the Country at Berlin Hiland. Bates has coached 6 All-Ohio performers (Andie Heffelfinger x2, Nikki Weberx2, Celeste Ryman x2) and 4 Mid Buckeye Conference MVP’s (Heffelfinger, Weber, Ryman x2) during his time at Loudonville. In 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, the Loudonville Redbirds were named the top academic girls basketball team in the state of Ohio by the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association.
In addition to coaching basketball at Loudonville, Bates teaches Geometry and Transitions to College Math. He served as an assistant coach for Justin Todd and the Loudonville Football program in 2013 and 2014 – assisting the program with 2 trips the OHSAA state playoffs. Bates’ additional duties at Loudonville have included fall site manager, summer weight room advisor and high school student council advisor. Prior to starting the Buckeye State Blast, Bates coached for Team Huddle out of Canton and NEO Swish out of Wooster. He has worked numerous events for the Ohio Girls Basketball Report – as well as a number of residential camps for colleges and universities in the region. In 2018 – Bates founded the NEO 3 on 3 Summer League – which features top HS and College teams from the state of Ohio. In 2019 – Bates directed the first Ohio Summer Showcase at the College of Wooster, 180 HS prospects from Ohio and surrounding states – in front of nearly 50 college coaches.