Over the course of the last three decades, the city of Orrville and Sly Slaughter have been closely connected.
After 13 seasons across two different stints (2009-2020; 2024-2026) as the varsity boys basketball head coach, Slaughter has stepped down as Orrville’s head coach.
Mike Huberty, who served as an assistant under Slaughter on the varsity staff the past two seasons, has been announced as the new boys basketball head coach.
“I am accepting the head principal position at Orrville Middle School,” said Slaughter via phone, who graduated from Orrville High School in 1993 and was a guard on Orrville’s 1993 basketball state championship team. “Our superintendent’s policy is if you’re a principal, you can’t be a head coach. I’m still going to be around. I’m allowed to be an assistant but I can’t be an assistant for the boys program. I will probably be helping out somewhere. Probably with the girls, maybe.”
Going into the 2025-26 season — where Orrville went 17-6 and were co-Principals Athletic Conference champions — Slaughter said that he told the team that he would be stepping down at the end of the season.
“I wanted them to know before the season because I didn’t want anything to be a distraction for them,” said Slaughter, who stated that his career as a head coach is likely finished. “It’s their season. I didn’t want to announce it at a basketball banquet.”
In Slaughter’s 13 seasons at Orrville, he won four district titles (2010-2012, 2019), was named District Coach of the Year twice (2010, 2026) and led the Red Riders to the 2010 OHSAA Division III state championship game in his first season as head coach.
Asked what was the biggest highlight of his coaching career at Orrville and Slaughter pointed to that 2010 state title run.
“Obviously going to the state championship game my first year was pretty incredible, but I would probably say the most satisfying thing for me was being able to come back and help revitalize some things in the program because we had some down seasons. Finishing it out with my son (Braylon), was probably the highlight of my career. Just being able to coach the last two years with him.”
Huberty, 26, said he started thinking about going after the head coaching position after the season was completed.
“He let the guys know. We did our best to stay focused on the rest of the year. Once the tournament had ended, that’s when I started giving it some real thought. It didn’t take me too long to make up my mind to go for it.”
Before Huberty spent two years on the varsity staff as an assistant, he was the freshman coach. He says because his familiarity with the Orrville program and being able to take some things from Slaughter makes him well-suited at this time for this head coaching role.
“I think I’m ready. I wasn’t going to apply if I didn’t feel I was. When Coach Slaughter got hired back, I had the opportunity to apply then and did not. At that point, I didn’t feel like I was ready,” said Huberty, who added that Slaughter’s process and how he handled the student-athletes is what he took away the most being on his coaching staff. “The last two years under Coach Slaughter have helped me a ton. I’ve learned what Orrville basketball is all about. The tradition and history of it. What it means to wear the red and black every Tuesday and Friday night.”
Huberty said he already has players in the gym now preparing for next season as summer workouts approach.
“I wanna be a hard-nosed defensive team and a team that creates chaos on the defensive end,” Huberty said. “That’s going to lead into quick, easy offense. Obviously, we’re going to have to win in multiple ways but our identity will be on defense first. Offensively, using our athleticism to our advantage and getting out in transition.”
jamessimpson@gannett.com
Twitter/X: @JamesSimpson II
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Sly Slaughter steps down, Mike Huberty announced as new Orrville boys basketball coach
Reporting by James Simpson II, Wooster Daily Record / The Daily Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
