Coach Bathiany, a Highlands grad, is coming to Lex Cath from the defensive coordinator job at Tiffin University.

Bathiany's name was heavily discussed last year while Highlands was in the midst of their first and second coaching searches during the offseason. So within a year of each other...Highlands ends up with a Lex Cath guy, and Lex Cath ends up with a Highlands guy.

Congratulations and good luck to Coach Bathiany and the Knights!

Lexington Catholic Announces New Football Coach

LEXINGTON, KY - President Sandra R. Young and Athletic Director Dave Nurnberg are pleased to announce the next leader of the Lexington Catholic High School Football Program. After an extensive search that yielded outstanding applicants from across the country, the search committee has selected Bert Bathiany.

Bert Bathiany has spent the last three years as the Defensive Coordinator at Tiffin University, a Division II school located in Northwest Ohio. During that time, the team compiled an overall record of 23-5, including three trips to the Great Mid-West Athletic Conference (GMAC) championship, back-to-back GMAC titles (2019-20), a trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs (2019; first in school history), & the school's highest national ranking (#12 in 2021). During the 2020-21 season, Bathiany's defense helped lead TU to their second consecutive GMAC title while ranking as the #1 defense in the country in points per game.

"We couldn't be more excited to welcome Coach Bathiany and his family to the Lexington Catholic community. His love for the game and commitment to developing men of character will make him a great asset to our Athletic Department and football program," stated Athletic Director Nurnberg.

Bathiany graduated Cum Laude from Denison University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education with a concentration in Sports Management. He received his Masters in Recreation and Sports Administration from Western Kentucky University in 2012. At Denison, Bathiany was a three-year starter as linebacker and safety. He was a second-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection in 2008 and was named the team's defensive MVP that season.

Coach Bathiany states, "My family and I couldn't be more excited to be joining the Lexington Catholic Community. I am humbled and honored to be selected to lead this football team and build upon its proud tradition. Lexington Catholic comes with great expectations. Everyone in our football program will embrace those expectations with enthusiasm unknown to mankind while striving to be the best version of ourselves every day. The state of Kentucky and the city of Lexington is home for us. We can't wait to get back to the Bluegrass State and get to work! Go Knights!"

A native of Fort Thomas, KY, Bathiany is a 2005 graduate of Highlands HS. He was a Captain and played safety and wide receiver for the 2004 State Championship Team who defeated Boyle County. He and his wife, Haley, are the parents of four children: Bert VI (8), Sawyer (6), Aniston (3), & Georgia (1).

Awesome hire by Lex Cath! Super happy for Bert as he is a great coach and even better guy from an awesome family. Really wish he would have been offered the HHS job! Good luck Coach B and the Knights! 

Congrats Coach Bathiany!

This is such a great hire by Lex Cath. I expect big things from Bert! 

Definitely a “home run” hire. Congrats Coach Bathiany. 

Congrats to Coach Bathiany!

Congrats Coach Bert. This is a much better job than Camp Co. Your hard work is paying off. Now go be great.

I like Lex Cath hiring a defense focused coach. If they keep the offense rolling and get better defensively, could be a lot of fun ahead.

So this was Highlands 5th pick?

1 hour ago, FLYGUY said:

So this was Highlands 5th pick?

Who were the first four?

20 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Who were the first four?

No. 1 was Eddie James and No. 2 was Bob Sphire. Not sure where everything fell into place after that. Lickert maybe? Barth?

6 minutes ago, The Oracle said:

No. 1 was Eddie James and No. 2 was Bob Sphire. Not sure where everything fell into place after that. Lickert maybe? Barth?

James wasn't #1.

52 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

James wasn't #1.

Chris Wolfe?

Congratulations to Coach Bathiany and to the Lex Cath players. Looks like a Lex Cath win and a Highlands lose on this one to me.