OTTAWA – 13 years ago former Ottawa Glandorf freshman boys coach Troy Yant took a chance at potentially coaching girls basketball.
“When I came in as the head coach I brought in Thomas Williams as an assistant and we created an idea of what we wanted to do, and that success would come eventually,” said Troy Yant.
Now over a decade later, Yant helms one of the most successful programs in the state of Ohio and reached a marker few coaches do on Saturday afternoon in his profession, his 300th career win.
“It’s not my 300th win, it’s the 300th win of the program during my time as head coach,” humbly explained Yant after his Titans defeated Toledo Central Catholic on the road. “It’s the result and testament rather of the knowledge and dedication of my assistant coaches, and the hard work and perseverance over the years of all of the players who have come through this program in the last 13 years.”
“Troy’s resume speaks for itself, it doesn’t matter the place, the level or the sport, Troy Yant is a winner,” said former assistant coach Thomas Williams. “Troy taught me winning is the byproduct of hard work, discipline and character, and that is the foundation I still coach from today.”
Ottawa Glandorf under Yant’s leadership has reached heights to which the program had not ascended before he agreed to become it’s eighth head coach since 1977. Under Yant the Lady Titans have reached six state tournaments and have come home with four runner up trophies.
Elissa Ellerbrock, a key contributor to the early days of the Yant led success remarked of her former head coach “Troy was truly one of the toughest coaches, he pushed us to our limits and set a standard for us as a player and a person. I truly value the lessons I learned from him and how it helped shape who I am and my love of the game.”
Tasked with battles in the Western Buckeye League against some of the toughest competition in the state, the Lady Titans heading into their final league tilt of 2025 on Thursday against Celina have recorded 107 wins against just nine defeats while collecting nine conference crowns.
“Being part of the Lady Titans basketball program goes further than just on the court, we are a family and always have each others backs no matter what,” said O-G all-time leading scorer Kadie Hempfling, now a coach at nearby Ohio Northern University. “I am thankful for him pushing me to be the best player I could be, I will never forget the memories that came along with each season nor the four trips to state.”
Eight Lady Titans have found themselves rewarded as Western Buckeye League Players of the Year, including former point guard Erin Kaufman. “I am grateful to have been part of this journey of Mr. Yant to 300 wins, he taught us in order to achieve success you must face adversity and defeat it with your head held high, which then turned into how to handle similar situations outside of basketball,” remarked Kaufman.
Current Lady Titans Liv Grothause, Kaelyn Grothause, Karsyn Erford, and Carlie Brinkman echo the sentiments of those who came before and helped pave the way to their success. “We know that when he is hard on us it’s because he cares and believes in us,” said the quartet. “Mr. Yant has built a legacy that not many coaches can say they have,” replied Brinkman. “He takes pride in Lady Titan basketball and we are all very grateful to have someone so talented coach us.”
“This program has truly given me some of the best memories and friendships I could’ve ever asked for” said former Lady Titan guard Kelsey Erford. “Mr. Yant has a way of getting everyone to “buy in”, even when we might not have believed in ourselves.”
Ottawa Glandorf continues to win games on the court against opponents while the players and their mentor continue to win the respect of anyone outside their program with their dedication to as Yant remarks, “always doing things the right way,”.
Fort Loramie head coach Carla Siegel, herself a very respected member of the coaching fraternity for her efforts both on and off the court remarked “It was a great decision for us to accept his invitation to play as in the past five years each of our games has been wonderful to be a part of. I have enjoyed immensely our chess match and over this time have come to find that Coach Yant is a genuine person who knows basketball, and his program reflects his leadership.”
How will Yant’s final legacy be written? “We’ve built a sustainable program for the future generations, and I hope to see that continue,” said Yant. “I want to see the program and the girls reach newer heights, it would be nice to win a state title, whether that’s me coaching or not but it would be the culminating achievement for what we’ve built.”
In the words of former Bowling Green standout Kadie Hempfling, “the one thing I want for this program to achieve is a state title, why not now?”
Regardless of how the Lady Titans fare on the court, Mr. Yant will forever to continue to be a winner both on and off it in the lives he has touched through coaching basketball at Ottawa Glandorf.