Justin Walther resigns at Serra Catholic, seeks big-school basketball job

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, May 8, 2020 | 11:09 AM

If you’re a big-school athletic director, Justin Walther would like to talk.

The former Central Catholic star and all-time leading scorer at Pitt-Johnstown wants a job coaching WPIAL boys basketball in the largest classifications, so he resigned at Serra Catholic after four seasons with the Class 2A school.

Serra announced his decision Friday.

“I played at that level at Central, so I thought that it’s about time I start coaching at that level as well,” Walther said. “I’m kind of banking on myself to get a job.”

Walther was in the running for the Peters Township job last month and was a finalist for the Central Catholic position a year ago. He’s now looking into other jobs, he said, and expects to be coaching somewhere before next winter.

“I’d be shocked if I wasn’t,” he said.

Rarely do coaches resign before landing another job, but Walther said he chose to leave now to give Serra Catholic more time to find his replacement.

Walther went 58-36 at Serra Catholic and led the team to the WPIAL Class 2A finals in 2019. The Eagles went 21-5 that season, 12-0 in the section and finished as WPIAL runners-up to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

Serra Catholic went 11-12 overall this past season and 9-3 in the section.

“I really enjoyed my time there,” Walther said. “I’m very appreciative of (athletic director) Bill Cleary for giving me the opportunity. We went to the WPIAL final two years ago. We were one of the top teams in WPIAL and one of the better teams in the state.”

The Munhall resident runs Pittsburgh Buckets, an AAU basketball program, and provides individual training for athletes.

After a redshirt year at Robert Morris, Walther transferred to Pitt-Johnstown, where he enjoyed a hall of fame career. He finished with a school-record 2,073 points and ranked second at the time with 875 career rebounds.

He graduated from Central Catholic in 1995 as the second-leading scorer in school history.

“I can bring a different element as someone who played (in the largest WPIAL classification),” Walther said. “I know what it takes to be successful at that level and I think I can help kids realize their abilities.”

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: Serra Catholic