McKeesport hires WPIAL champion Dan DeRose as boys basketball coach

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, March 13, 2025 | 11:17 PM

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The McKeesport boys basketball team hasn’t won a WPIAL title in a few decades, but the Tigers hired a new coach with one already on his resume.

Dan DeRose, who led Penn Hills to a WPIAL title, was hired Thursday night by the McKeesport School Board. DeRose also had WPIAL coaching stints at South Park, North Allegheny and Carlynton, where he spent this winter.

McKeesport went 7-15 this past season and 5-19 last year, yet DeRose said he sees a program with potential.

“It’s very similar to Penn Hills,” said DeRose, whose teams at times shared a section with McKeesport. “There were a number of years when I was at Penn Hills that I thought they were more talented than us, believe it or not.”

In five years at Penn Hills, DeRose’s teams averaged 20 wins per season, reached the playoffs five times and won the WPIAL Class 6A title in 2018.

His high school coaching record is 141-53.

“He has championship-caliber experience,” McKeesport athletic director Charley Kiss said. “Not only on the court, but off the court as well. He’ll demand accountability and discipline throughout the program.”

Kiss said DeRose’s success with a similarly situated team — Penn Hills — was enticing for McKeesport.

“If he has even half the success he had there, he’ll have a good run,” Kiss said.

DeRose replaces coach Troy Blackwell, who was not retained after three seasons. McKeesport reached the WPIAL playoffs in 2023 before finishing 1-9 in the section last season and 4-10 this year.

McKeesport has won four WPIAL boys basketball titles, most recently in 1995. DeRose said he has an affinity for schools hungry to find success.

“Their thoughts are they’re sick of losing,” DeRose said. “That’s kind of been my MO. At South Park, 15 straight losing seasons. At Penn Hills, seven years in a row not making the playoffs. At North Allegheny, not winning a section title in 15 years.

“That’s kind of been my thing.”

DeRose coached South Park to a 16-6 record and a WPIAL playoff berth in 2014-15, his one season with the Eagles. In 2020-21, he went 16-7 and won the Section 1-6A title in one season at North Allegheny.

He takes over a McKeesport team that’s gone five years without a winning season.

“I’ve always been the kind of guy that loves to give school districts or teams some joy,” he said. “(Give them) something they haven’t been able to be excited about for a long time.”

At Carlynton, DeRose stepped in as coach in November and led the Cougars to a playoff berth.

A Beaver Falls native, DeRose coached college basketball for more than a decade, including a six-year run at the Community College of Beaver County from 2003-09. He went 139-45 and won a conference title each year.

In his one season at North Allegheny, a halftime altercation at Fox Chapel led to summary charges later dismissed on appeal. In response, he filed a lawsuit against the Fox Chapel Area School District and several employees.

He also had stints as coach at Penn State McKeesport (2000-01) and Chowan University (2010-12), an NCAA Division II school in North Carolina.

“I’m going to meet with the team on Monday,” DeRose said. “I told them I want to get started ASAP.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Carlynton, McKeesport, North Allegheny, Penn Hills, South Park