Walsh Jesuit High School tabs Sean Flannery to be boys basketball coach
Walsh Jesuit has hired Sean Flannery to serve as the Warriors boys basketball coach.
Flannery played basketball at St. Edward High School in Lakewood and was coached by his father, Eric Flannery. Sean Flannery contributed to St. Edward's Division I state championship team in 2014 as a sophomore reserve.
Flannery started at guard for St. Edward as a senior in 2016. He was a preseason McDonald’s All-America nominee, earned first-team All-Northeast Ohio Lakes Division and special mention All-Ohio honors in Division I and participated in the Ohio North v. South All-Star Game.
Flannery then played basketball at John Carroll University and was on coaching staffs at Xavier University and Georgia State University.
“I am committed to nurturing the talents of the student-athletes and instilling the values of discipline, teamwork, perseverance and hard work at Walsh Jesuit,” Flannery said in a prepared statement from WJ. “Coming from John Carroll and Xavier University, I have a strong belief in basketball and sport being a key piece to the growth of young adults.”
Walsh Jesuit finished the 2023-2024 season 13-11 under coach Joe Wojcik. The Warriors won the Crown Conference championship with a 5-1 record.
Wojcik followed Kevin Byrne, who was Walsh's coach for five seasons from 2018-2023 and compiled a record of 91-33. Byrne led Walsh to a Division I district title and regional runner-up finish in 2023 and to two district runner-up finishes.
Byrne left Walsh to be Gilmour Academy's girls basketball coach and associate athletic director.
Walsh Jesuit boys basketball coach Sean Flannery starred as a player at St. Edward and John Carroll
Flannery concluded his St. Edward career with school records in assists and steals.
Flannery helped John Carroll win an Ohio Athletic Conference championship and make a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament as a sophomore reserve in 2018. Flannery had the highest assist-to-turnover ratio for all divisions that season in the NCAA.
Flannery graduated from John Carroll in 2020 ranked fifth in program history in assists (416) and seventh in steals (171) in 98 games (49 starts). He scored 697 points and grabbed 249 rebounds in his JCU career.
Flannery, a Westlake native, worked as a graduate assistant at Xavier University for two years under former Musketeers coaches Travis Steele and Jonas Hayes. Xavier won the NIT championship in 2022 with Flannery on Hayes' coaching staff. Flannery helped develop several future professional basketball players at Xavier, including Colby Jones of the Sacramento Kings.
Flannery moved to Atlanta to work at Georgia State University and spent two years as the video coordinator and an assistant coach to Hayes. He ran the player development program at Georgia State.
“We are thrilled to add Sean into the Warrior basketball family,” WJ athletic director Mark Hassman said. “His knowledge of the game and our student-athletes, vision of our basketball program and understanding of the mission of Walsh Jesuit makes Sean the perfect fit to lead us into the future.”
Flannery and his fiancé, Janice, are set to be married this summer.
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Sean Flannery to be Walsh Jesuit boys basketball coach
