XENIA — Legacy Christian Academy Athletic Director Bev Moser announced the recent hiring of Mark Erwin as the school’s new boys varsity high school basketball coach.

“After an extensive search, and working through a large group of very qualified applicants, Legacy Christian Academy is pleased and excited to announce Mr. Mark Erwin as our Varsity Boys Basketball Coach,” Moser said in a statement. “Mark comes to us with extensive coaching experience at the Junior High and High School levels, as well as in AAU programs. We believe Mark will continue to grow and strengthen our boys basketball program from the elementary level up through high school.”

Erwin replaces 2018-‘19 District 15 and Metro Buckeye League Coach of the Year Brad Newsome, whose contract was not renewed. Legacy Christian won the Metro Buckeye Conference title for the first time in school history last season.

“First and foremost, I would like to express how blessed I feel to be the head coach at Legacy. Legacy Christian is an unbelievable community of truly caring people, and I think it is a wonderful place for kids to learn and grow. I am looking forward to adding to that community through my role in athletics,” Erwin said in an emailed statement.

Erwin said the bulk of his coaching career had been within the Bellbrook school system, where he coached eighth grade and junior varsity teams, and served as a varsity assistant coach for the past seven years. He also coached for five years with the freshman and junior varsity programs at Greeneview High School, and has served as an AAU basketball coach with Dayton Metro Basketball.

“My focus with Legacy will be on building the program with communication and cohesion from the bottom up,” he said. “Coaching basketball has always been a joy for me. I can’t think of a better place than Legacy to continue my journey.”