Ryan Koch-Berks Catholic

Berks Catholic visited Wilson on January 11th for a Division 1 battle. The Saints came up short that night, but Ryan Koch showed everyone in West Lawn that he was legit. The 6’4 shooting guard finished with a career-high 27 points including 17 in the second half. He splashed six 3-pointers in the 51-48 loss to the Bulldogs. Koch hit three triples in the fourth quarter to keep the Saints in the game. Berks Catholic went on to win 23 games and a District 3 championship. The Saints hammered Middletown 60-37 at the Giant Center in the Class 4A Final. It’s their fourth District 3 title in eleven years. With Koch, JayJay Jordan, and Jack Miller all returning, they will be contenders again this season. Jordan is an all-county point guard who averaged a team-high 15.6 points per game. He was named the Section 4 Defensive Back of the Year this week in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Jordan was also voted a first team running back and kick returner. Miller is a sniper from long distance. The senior guard drilled 44 treys last season. Koch is a versatile scorer who provided 14 ppg. a season ago. He led the Berks Conference with 63 3-pointers. Koch is headed to Division II Pitt-Johnstown. “I just fell in love with the coaches right away. They’re really good guys. They came to a lot of my games last year,” he said. Koch scored 20 or more points five times as a junior. He enters this year with 605 career points. Berks Catholic got a boost when 6’3 junior Josh McKoy and his brother Kingston transferred from Antietam. Josh averaged 15 points a night for the Mounts. Kingston is a freshman who will get minutes with the varsity team. “Josh brings a lot of size and Kingston brings his quick abilities. They’re both very unselfish…They’re filling good roles,” noted Koch. Jaxon Geddio played well this summer for Berks Catholic in the West Reading League. The Saints are moving from Division 1 to Division 2 of the Berks Conference this year. Three of their five losses last season came against Reading. The Red Knights defeated Berks Catholic 51-35 in the Berks County championship. About 3,700 fans were in attendance at Santander Arena to see that heavyweight matchup. I asked Koch about the competition in Berks County. He replied, “It’s always a battle each and every night. You gotta come out with your best game. If you don’t, you can get taken advantage of real quick.” Division 2 now includes Berks Catholic, Exeter, Conrad Weiser, Twin Valley, and Daniel Boone. Koch told me that his favorite NBA player is Jayson Tatum and his favorite rapper is Drake. The Saints open the season at Exeter’s tip-off tournament. They face Allentown Central Catholic next Friday. Berks Catholic head coach Snip Esterly has a remarkable career record of (769-212) with eight Berks County championships, thirteen District 3 titles, and a state gold medal from 2007 with Reading Central Catholic. He spent 22 years with the Cardinals. This will be Esterly’s 12th season with the Saints (227-79).