Scott McClelland decides time is right, steps down from coaching basketball at Noblesville

Going back to last spring, Scott McClelland felt like it might be time for him to take a step back from coaching.

Family and friends encouraged him to stick it out another year and see how he felt. But the 52-year-old Noblesville boys basketball coach kept coming back to the same feeling – that the time is right. He made it official on Wednesday, resigning from his position at the school.

“I have nothing but positive things to say the past five years (at Noblesville),” McClelland said. “The athletic department and every person in there have been awesome. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention (former Noblesville principal and current Hamilton Southeastern principal) Dr. (Craig) McCaffrey for hiring me five years ago. We had really good players, great kids, tried to do it the right way and be successful. I don’t know if this is retirement. Maybe I’ll find out I need to go help kids somewhere else, but right now at this stage of my life, I just think the timing is right both professionally and personally.”

McClelland led Noblesville to an 86-38 record in five seasons at Noblesville, including a sectional title in the 2022-23 season – the program’s first in 13 years. The next season, the Millers battled defending state champion and undefeated Fishers to a 49-47 loss in a thriller in front of a soldout crowd at the Mill in Noblesville.

McClelland led Morristown to a Class 1A state championship in 2017-18, a highlight of a 24-year career in coaching that included two stops at Morristown totaling 13 years, along with two years at Brebeuf Jesuit and three at Western Boone. He has a 332-207 record overall.

Though McClelland said he understands the timing is not perfect for Noblesville to make a coaching transition, he said he did not want to go through the season wishing he had stepped down. He cited his parents’ age and his 15-year-old daughter’s activities, among other reasons, that he did not want to miss out on being there for because he was coaching.

“I just had a sad meeting with (athletic director Leah Wooldridge) and she asked me if I was sure,” McClelland said. “I told her, ‘Yes I am.’ That’s just the way things are. I was afraid if I kept going on and on and wasn’t 100 percent committed that wouldn’t be fair to the kids. I sensed it coming back in the spring and think I let people care about – my parents, my wife, my daughter, other coaches – kind of talk me out of it in May. But have things have gone on, I just felt like the timing was right. The athletic department has been great to the basketball program and we’ve had some great kids here. I’m at peace with my decision.”

McClelland, the Indiana Junior All-Star coach last year, coached three Indiana All-Stars: P.J. Thompson at Brebeuf Jesuit and Aaron Fine and Baron Walker at Noblesville. Justin Curry also would have been an Indiana All-Star last season had he not been injured.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. 

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Scott McClelland decides time is right, steps down from coaching basketball at Noblesville