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Despite barely being old enough to consume an alcoholic beverage, Jac Alexander has been named the head varsity boys basketball coach at Tiffin Columbian High School.
The Oak Harbor alum is now leading the Tornadoes, just one season after serving as an assistant with the Rockets under his former coach, Eric Sweet.
Tiffin Columbian, which competes in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division, will be moving with nine other SBC schools to the newly-formed Northern Ohio Conference, where they'll begin play in 2026-27. They went 10-13 and 5-5 in the Lake Division last season.
Alexander had successful careers in high school and in college at Marietta College, where he led the Pioneers to the Division III Final Four in 2021-22. He was named a team captain three times in his collegiate career.
"We're thrilled to welcome Coach Alexander to Columbian High School," TC's Director of Athletics and Activities Bill Beaston said. "From the start of our search, we were looking for a coach who could energize our program and connect with our student-athletes in a meaningful way. Coach Alexander checked every box – and then some."
The Port Clinton native talked about his basketball philosophy.
"It's about getting kids to be excited to play and love the game of basketball, (and) building a foundation from the biddy (program) up to the varsity," Alexander said. "(We want) a team that competes at an unbelievably high level at all times."
In college, Alexander played for Jon VanderWal, one of the top coaches in Division III.
Alexander said he learned valuable skills from VanderWal that he utilizes as a coach.
"From Coach V, I learned to always give 100 percent and demand the best of myself," Alexander said. "Also, that it is necessary to sacrifice individual success for the success of the team."
Alexander also discussed what it was like playing for Sweet, who has been at Oak Harbor for 14 years and successfully rebuilt the program.
"With Coach Sweet, I learned how important it is to connect with your players and get to know them on a personal level," Alexander said, “and to support them, not just in basketball, but in other sports, and in the classroom in order to develop mutual trust and respect."
The Tornadoes were coached last year by Ryan Fretz and by Travis Kinn for nine seasons before that. Kinn went 105-107. After getting his tenure off to a slow start, Columbian had four straight seasons of at least 15 wins, and won three sectional titles, a conference championship and advanced to the district finals twice under Kinn's leadership.
The Tornadoes will be without the services of All-Ohioan, Zach Shawberry, and four others who graduated, but the cupboard is not bare.
