SHARONVILLE, Ohio — Princeton boys basketball coach Bryan Wyant glanced toward the opposite side of the school gym early Friday afternoon and smiled.
Earlier this week, the boys basketball state championship banner was installed in the gym. Others asked Wyant to take a sneak peek. He politely declined.
The banner was covered for a special unveiling at Friday’s school-wide state championship celebration.
“I’m like, ‘No, I don’t want to go look at it. Because I want to see it for the first time (Friday),” Wyant said.
The school hosted a special ceremony to celebrate the first boys basketball state title in program history. Princeton defeated Hilliard Bradley in the Division I state final March 22 in Dayton.
Friday afternoon completed a whirlwind week that included media interviews, countless text messages and the team’s participation in Thursday’s Opening Day parade.
“I hadn’t had the privilege of being at a Reds parade before,” Wyant said. “And then to actually be in it – it seemed like a million people cheering you on. It was really cool. And it was cool for our players. And just to see the amount of people from Princeton that are actually all over the place. This has been a special week for me for sure.”
Princeton has received requests from government entities for team appearances later this spring.
Wyant also received countless compliments this week. A former coach was almost in tears discussing the team’s state championship. A former player explained to Wyant why he felt like he won a state title.
Other Princeton head coaches told Wyant that he brought inspiration to their respective teams, too.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Wyant said. “I was telling somebody I didn’t really get how big of a deal it (the state title) was. Everybody’s excited to win. And yes, it’s a state championship. But, I’ve been blown away by just the sheer number of people who’ve not just reached out, but people in the community. People in the city.”
Wyant and the Vikings are already looking forward to the 2026-27 season.
“That parade was so good — I’m like to my staff, ‘We need to do this again,’” Wyant said. “I want to come to the parade again. That was incredible. We’ve already started planning and executing for what needs to be done for next year.”
The Vikings return plenty of talent, including 2027 guard/forward Amire Gill (state final MVP) and 2028 guard Kam Mercer, who is rated the nation’s 7th player in his class by ESPN.
“We’re still back to work, and hopefully the goal would be to repeat,” Wyant said. “That would be an incredible feat. It doesn’t happen very often. It doesn’t really happen at all. If we have an opportunity to repeat — we have a lot of our nucleus coming back. When you return a Kam Mercer and an Amire Gill, you got a legit shot.”
