‘An elite leader of young people.’ LexCath hires St. Xavier assistant as football coach.

Lexington Catholic has found the next leader of its football program.

Nicklaus Baisch, a Louisville native and assistant coach at St. Xavier, one of that city’s high school football giants, was announced as the new head coach for the two-time state champion Knights on Friday.

“It’s an elite program. When you think of Catholic football programs in the state of Kentucky, Lexington Catholic is right there,” Baisch said in an interview with the Herald-Leader on Saturday, a day after he met with his new team. “When I saw (the job) come open, I was like, ‘I want to chase that.’ We played them when I was in high school, and I’ve coached against them a couple of times. It’s just a great facility, a great school and a great program.”

Baisch succeeds Bert Bathiany, who turned one season of success at LexCath into what could be considered the job opportunity of a lifetime when he was hired away early last month by Cincinnati’s Archbishop Moeller, a nine-time Ohio state champion.

Bathiany led the Knights to a 10-3 record and two milestones not achieved by the program since 2016 — a district title and a win over longtime rival Boyle County. It also marked LexCath’s most wins and best record since 2015, the year it finished runner-up to Belfry in the Class 3A state championship.

Baisch has been an assistant coach to Kevin Wallace at St. X for the past five years, which included its 2021 Class 6A championship. Before that, Baisch assisted Wallace at Bowling Green. The Purples won back-to-back Class 5A state titles in 2015 and 2016, the last two of Baisch’s three seasons there.

Like Bathiany, this also will be the first head coaching job for the 32-year-old Baisch as LexCath continues a recent tradition of filling the position with a young, aspiring coach.

“I can’t say enough about Lexington Catholic giving me an opportunity,” Baisch said. “They’re taking a chance on me. What they are going to get is someone who is going to work their tail off every single day.”

Congratulations flooded social media upon the announcement, including praise from Baisch’s former boss. Baisch roomed with Kevin Wallace’s eldest son Ryan at WKU and helped coach his youngest son Cameron at Bowling Green.

Coach Wallace called Baisch “an elite leader of young people” via Twitter, adding, “My job just got harder, but Nick is family (and) now is the time for him to create his own legacy. Go be great, @N_Baisch42 (Baisch’s Twitter handle).”

Baisch said he began seriously thinking about striking out on his own as a head coach about a year ago, believing he could put the lessons learned under Wallace to use with his own team.”

“I’ve been preparing for it.” Baisch said. “Coach Wallace has really done a great job of giving me different things within the program so I could become a head coach.”

A search committee of faculty, staff, alumni, parents and administrators “recommended Baisch after an extensive search that yielded outstanding applicants from across the country,” Lexington Catholic said in a press release.

“Throughout our hiring process it became very evident that Coach Baisch would be a tremendous addition to Lexington Catholic,” said Dave Nurnberg, the school’s athletics director who also serves as one of the Knights’ assistant football coaches. “His proven ability to coach the game, build relationships, and develop men of character, along with his experience in high-level and successful programs, will make him an asset to our football team, athletics department and school community as a whole.”

Baisch graduated from St. Xavier in 2009 and walked on as a player at Western Kentucky University where he was a four-year letterman and granted a scholarship his senior year. He started at fullback for the Hilltoppers in their first bowl game as an FBS member in 2012. He earned bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a masters in recreation and sports administration at WKU.

In addition to coaching, Baisch served as assistant director of admissions at St. Xavier, and he will join Lexington Catholic’s advancement and admissions teams, according to the school.

Lexington Catholic is expected to return second-team all-city quarterback Jackson Wasik, who threw for 2,954 yards and 41 touchdowns last season, along with fellow all-city selections Joseph Schlarman, Cannon Mackley and Bennett Williams in the trenches and Sam Clements at defensive back/wideout.

“The two days I’ve watched practice, we have a lot of young men that love to work,” Baisch said. “With that, you can be successful. I would say our strength is in the trenches with the linemen and that’s a great thing to have.”

The latest football classification realignment by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association returns Lexington Catholic to Class 3A this fall after spending the last four seasons in Class 4A. LexCath has won state titles in both divisions (2005, 2007).

Realignment also gives Lexington Catholic a new set of district rivals. Bourbon County, a longtime district foe, dropped down with LexCath into a new Class 3A District 4 that also contains Lloyd Memorial and Pendleton County. While Boyle County stayed in Class 4A, the rival Rebels are expected to remain on the Knights’ schedule in 2023.

“If you look at our schedule, there’s no off weeks,” Baisch said. “So, 10 weeks through the season, we’re going to challenge these young men to perform at their highest level. I’m looking forward to and and looking forward to watching these young men meet that challenge.”

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