Mt. Vernon head coach Ben Rhoades shouts instruction to his team during its season opener against Lawrence Central.
FORTVILLE — Ben Rhoades has resigned as the head basketball coach at Mt. Vernon High School.
The Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation sent out a release Friday that it had received the coach’s letter of resignation, which would be effective immediately.
In five seasons as the Marauders’ head coach, Rhoades’ teams compiled a record of 77-43 and won two sectional championships.
Rhoades stated, in the release, “After much consideration, I have decided to resign from the position of varsity boys basketball coach. I have enjoyed the opportunity to be the boys basketball coach, a part of the Mt. Vernon community, and especially a small part of many players’ lives and accomplishments both on and off the basketball court the past five seasons. I wish Mt. Vernon boys basketball nothing but success in the future.”
Rhoades did not coach the final four games of the 2022-23 season. He was on paid leave after a Feb. 20 arrest for driving while intoxicated.
On March 1, the school corporations announced that Rhoades would be retained as a physical education teacher, but his status as the Marauders boys basketball head coach was still under review.
Assistant coach Nate Bingham was the interim coach for the final regular season game and three games in the Muncie Central Sectional.
The Marauders won three of the four games, including an upset victory over No. 17 Anderson in a sectional semifinal.
Under Rhoades, after back-to-back 11-12 seasons in his first two campaigns, the Marauders won back-to-back sectional titles in 2021 and 2022. The 2022 team went 22-3 and had a 16-game winning streak.
This season’s team went 16-9, including the 3-1 mark under Bingham.
In the release, the school corporation stated:
Mt. Vernon appreciates Mr. Rhoades’ time and dedication to the Mt. Vernon High School boys basketball program that grew during the past five years of his direction. Mt. Vernon High School will begin a search for a new boys basketball coach immediately.
Interest in leading the Marauders’ program should be high.
The team went 16-9 with a starting lineup that included three freshmen and one sophomore. Freshmen guards Julien Smith (13.1 points per game) and Luke Ertel (13 points per game) were the Marauders’ leading scorers. Both were recently named honorable mention all-state underclassmen by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
