Former Ankeny boys’ basketball player Trystan Cummins has been named the head boys’ basketball coach at Bishop Heelan Catholic in Sioux City.
Cummins, 27, will become one of the youngest head coaches in the state.
“(My age) has its pros and cons,” said Cummins, a 2016 AHS graduate. “I have a lot of energy to do it, but I obviously don’t have all the answers. It’ll be good to have a staff that has some experience and has been doing it for awhile.”
Cummins helped the Hawks to a 19-4 record as a senior, when he averaged 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He ranked seventh in Class 4A in 3-point percentage, making 43-of-83 attempts from behind the arc (51.8 percent).
Cummins went on to play for Morningside University in Sioux City. He then joined the Mustangs’ staff after he graduated.
“I ran the JV program for two years, and I helped out with varsity for the whole four years,” Cummins said. “I really learned a lot, and I knew I wanted to pursue coaching as a career.”
Cummins became an assistant last season at Heelan, where he joined the staff of coach Matt Hahn–his former Morningside teammate. Hahn then departed after the Crusaders posted an 11-13 record.
“We were in the same class,” Cummins said of Hahn. “He decided to pursue some other things, and it just kind of happened that the opportunity came up. Being a head coach has been a dream of mine for a long time, so I’m really excited about this opportunity.”
Cummins thinks it will be an easy transition.
“Playing in the same system in college (as Hahn), we have similar coaching styles,” he said. “My coaching style has always been defense first–that’s just kind of how I was raised and coached my entire life. Offensively, we’re going to play fast and I give my players more freedom on the offensive end to make reads and play off of each other.”
Cummins played at Ankeny under coach John Petersen, who was thrilled to hear the news that Cummins had become a head coach.
“That is fantastic!” Petersen said.
Cummins will be the 14th head coach in program history. He’s excited to remain in the Siouxland area.
“If you want to get into coaching, you have to go where the opportunities present itself,” he said. “But I have a lot of connections here, and I loved my time at Morningside. I still talk to the coaches over there all the time. I’m extremely happy to stay in the Sioux City area.”
The Crusaders will return three starters next season, including their top two scorers.
“We don’t have a ton of size, but we do have athletes and speed so we’ll play a little small ball and play fast,” Cummins said.