CovCath adds high-profile talent: 7-footer from Evansville, NKU's new head coach's son

Covington Catholic, the two-time defending Ninth Region basketball champions in Kentucky, is likely to get some new help next season as it pursues its third state championship in six seasons.

Noah Hupmann, a 7-foot center from Evansville, Indiana, will transfer to Covington Catholic, according to the Evansville Courier & Press.

Hupmann, an incoming senior, played for Day School in Evansville. Hupmann has received Division I college interest from Evansville, Indiana State and Morehead State, among others.

He averaged 16.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 7.7 blocks per game as a junior, notching three triple-doubles. According to MaxPreps, Hupmann led the nation in blocks per game. He also was an IBCA Underclass Small School All-State selection.

His father, Sascha, also a 7-footer, once was a bruising center for the University of Evansville at 250 pounds and earned all-conference honors twice before playing overseas professionally for a decade.

He will be the second high-profile move-in transfer to join the Colonels. Walker Horn, the son of new Northern Kentucky University head coach Darrin Horn, has also enrolled at CovCath, his father told the Lexington Herald-Leader last week. Walker Horn, an incoming sophomore in the class of 2022, is moving here from Austin, Texas, where his father was an assistant coach with the Texas Longhorns under Shaka Smart.

Horn, a 6-foot-4 guard, has shown to be a prolific scorer.

Hupmann and Horn are subject to Kentucky High School Athletic Association transfer rules and need to be cleared by the KHSAA to compete next season, which is likely since they're moving in from long distance.

The Colonels are also likely to add Chandler Starks, a 6-foot-5 incoming freshman who is expected to enroll at CovCath for the fall. His father Keith Starks, a UC standout from 1987-91, is currently the head girls basketball coach at Ursuline Academy.

Chandler Starks graduated eighth grade from Nagel Middle School in the Forest Hills School District. Starks is ranked as high as 73rd in national rankings for the Class of 2023. He is AAU teammates with incoming Hughes freshman Rayvon Griffith, who is ranked 10th by Coast2Coast Preps. 

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CovCath can’t comment on prospective players until the new school year begins.

CovCath, the 2018 state champions, its second in five seasons, finished 27-8 last year and won its fourth Ninth Region championship in Scott Ruthsatz’s tenure. The Colonels lost 64-61 to Scott County in the first round of the 2019 Sweet 16.

The Colonels graduated three players: Bellarmine signee Nick Thelen, who averaged 13.5 points per game, plus frequent starters Tyler Fleek and Jack Davin.

Leading the returners is Grant Disken, CovCath’s starting point guard who will be a senior next season. He averaged 14 points per game and made 71 3-pointers. Senior Michael Mayer, a Notre Dame football commit, averaged 10.7 points and 7.4 rebounds in 10 games and was a big boost for the team in the postseason. 

BOONE COUNTY COACH STEPS DOWN: After 15 years as head boys basketball coach, Greg McQueary will step away from the boys basketball program.

He was a four-time Ninth Region coach of the year. His 2011-12 team set the school record for most wins (27) on its way to the Ninth Region championship, the fourth by the program in school history. 

McQueary had been in coaching for 31 years, and was head coach at Bardstown and Caldwell County before coming to Florence.

He ranked third in Northern Kentucky in the longest continuous tenure for head boys basketball coaches at the same school, trailing St. Henry’s David Faust (27 years) and Simon Kenton’s Trent Steiner (16). Ron Dawn, who was just named as head coach at Newport Central Catholic for the third time, will begin his 20th overall season in charge of the boys program this fall.

McQueary ranks second for the most wins in the program's history behind Jay Mulcahy (261). McQueary will continue to teach advanced mathematics, Including AP calculus, and will continue to coach boys tennis.