Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
Chad Walters was approved tonight as the new boys basketball head coach at Oley Valley. He takes over for Matt Barrell who stepped down after a decade with the Lynx. Walters is an Oley Valley graduate who spent last season as an assistant under Brian Wrobel at Gov. Mifflin.
Walters has experience as both a girls and boys basketball head coach in Berks County. He coached the Fleetwood girls basketball team from 2004-08. His next stop was Birdsboro where he served as the girls basketball coach at Daniel Boone from 2009-12. Walters moved on to Twin Valley where he was the boys basketball coach from 2016-22.
The (19-7, 11-1) Lynx won the Division 4 championship last season. They lost to second-seeded Exeter 68-35 in the BCIAA quarterfinals. Oley Valley earned the #3 seed in the District 3-3A playoffs. The Lynx fell at second-seeded Trinity 78-51 in the semifinals. Columbia defeated Oley Valley 69-57 in the third place game with a trip to the state tournament on the line.
The Lynx lost five key players to graduation. Jaden Kelly, Keith Neal, Chase Rubendall, Chase Reifsnyder, and Ethan Gallardo were part of the senior class. Kelly and Neal were all-division selections. Sharpshooter Ben DeBalko returns along with 6’4 senior David Turchi. DeBalko averaged a team-high 11 points as a sophomore while knocking down 65 treys.