Ken Rector retires after 25 seasons as a Barberton basketball coach with 349 wins

Barberton High School athletic director John Sabol announced Sunday that Ken Rector is retiring as Magics girls basketball coach.

Rector was the Barberton girls basketball coach for the last five seasons (2019-2024) after being Magics boys basketball coach for 20 seasons (1996-2016). He graduated from Barberton in 1984 and is in his 29th year teaching in the school district.

"The No. 1 thing you can say about Kenny is you measure the type of person and coach he was by the number of kids that either physically come back to see him, whether it be during the school day or at a basketball game, or they reach out to him," Sabol said. "That is boys and girls, and obviously more boys because he coached the boys team longer.

"He measures success not in wins, but by the number of lives that he impacted. He provided lifelong lessons, and I think that is what he is most proud of."

Rector compiled an overall record of 349-204 in 25 years leading the basketball programs at Barberton. He became the school's all-time leader in coaching victories last season when he passed Jeff Janiga, who went 347-100 as Magics girls basketball coach from 1978-1997.

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Rector's Barberton boys basketball teams went 314-134, won three Suburban League championships in seven seasons and five Western Reserve Conference South Division titles in nine seasons. His 2009 team was a Division I regional runner-up and he won three Division I district titles with the Magics (2002, 2006 and 2009).

Rector was selected as the Akron Beacon Journal’s Clem Caraboolad Coach of the Year in 2009 and was the 2009 Associated Press Ohio Division I co-Coach of the Year. He was also a three-time winner of the Summit County Touchdown Club Coach of the Year award, was inducted into the Barberton Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and Greater Akron Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016 received the Bob Arnzen Award from the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association.

Rector was a sophomore reserve on Barberton’s boys basketball team in 1982 when the Magics were the Class AAA state runners-up under legendary coach Jack Greynolds. Rector earned seven letters in football, basketball and baseball during his high school playing career at Barberton and went on to a basketball and football career at Mount Union.

Rector started his coaching career as an assistant at Stow under Dave Close for three seasons (1991-1994). He helped Stow make a Division I state semifinal appearance in 1993, returned to Barberton as an assistant to Roger Cramer for two seasons (1994-1996) before taking over as head coach ahead of the 1996-1997 season.

Barberton's girls basketball teams went 35-70 under Rector the last five seasons.

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ken Rector retires after 25 seasons as a Barberton basketball coach