Mertiff to coach boys basketball at B-A
Tyler Mertiff coached 9 years at Tyrone, but now he is ready to take on his first varsity head coaching job at B-A.
May 17, 2022
After boys basketball head coach Patrick Cassidy announced his resignation this past March, the district was looking for a new face to fill the shoes.
Tyler Mertiff, a 2003 Tyrone alum and 1,000-point scorer, was the man, selected last week to be the new coach for the Devils.
Mertiff has accumulated nine years of coaching experience after five years of being the head coach for the Tyrone junior high boys team and four years as assistant coach to the boys varsity team.
Mertiff, who lives in the Bellwood-Antis School District despite his strong ties to Tyrone, jumped at the opportunity when the Blue Devils’ position came open.
“I chose to coach at Bellwood because of the winning culture the school has,” said Mertiff. “It was a no-brainer when the job was open [that] I knew it was the place I wanted to be.”
Mertiff will coach his first year in the Inter-County Conference but will make the transition to the Laurel Highlands the year following.
“I feel our basketball program is going in the right direction right now,” stated Mertiff. “We need to work in the fundamentals and strive to compete on every play no matter what the score is. Once we get that mindset we will be able to compete with anyone. Going from the ICC to the LHAC will be a big jump in competition, but that will only make us better when playoff time comes. I am very excited to play tough competition game in and game out.”
Not only was Mertiff a top scorer at Tyrone in his days in the early 2000s, but he was a three-year starter on the football team who set records as a passer as well as a three-year starter on the baseball team.
He is inheriting a program that last won a District 6 championship in 2016 and last played in the ICC championship game in 2019. The boys finished last season 10-13 and lost in the first round of the District 6 playoffs. Cassidy ended his three-year career at B-A with a record of 32-34.
Mertiff said his goals with the program are to compete for championships and see improvements within his players.
Good luck to Mertiff and the boys next season!
