Williamstown girls basketball coach Danny Bunch, filling in for Fred Sauro, addresses the team during a 2023 sectional game. Bunch has been named the new Williamstown head coach. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

WILLIAMSTOWN — When Danny Bunch moved his family from Calhoun County to Williamstown more than five years ago, he did not have the intention of resurrecting his coaching career.

When the Williamstown girls basketball program was seeking a replacement on an interim basis for the long-time veteran Fred Sauro, Bunch was hit by the coaching bug.

“When I moved my family here to Williamstown, we drove around town – everyone was so supportive. Not only the athletes, but everything you do in town is about ‘Go Jackets.’ It’s almost something like you see in the movie ‘Varsity Blues,'” Bunch said. “To put our kids in a place like that, with all the support and familiar faces at every game supporting these kids even when they have no kids of their own is pretty awesome.”

“I had no intentions to coach when I moved to Williamstown – the opportunity just happened, and by that time I had the itch and wanted to get back into it.”

With coach Sauro on hiatus from the program while rehabbing a stroke he suffered prior to the 2022-23 season, Bunch filled in for the entirety of that season and led the Yellowjackets to a 19-5 finish.

Sauro returned this past season with Bunch next to his side as his assistant and Williamstown went deep into the postseason – only to lose to Wyoming East in the Class AA state championship game.

At the conclusion of this season, Sauro decided to step down following 38 years as the Yellowjacket girls head coach. He vacated a position which left him as the winningest high school girls basketball coach for the state of West Virginia with 557 victories. On Tuesday at the Wood County Board of Education meeting Bunch was approved as the next girls head coach at Williamstown.

“Having spent the past few years in the program, it doesn’t really feel like going into a new job,” Bunch said. “Obviously, when coach Sauro was away for that one season, it was pretty much my show and I was able to get familiar with the girls. Over the past few years, I learned a lot from coach Sauro and he taught me along the way – I will still keep in contact with him for advice and tips. I can’t complain getting information from one of the best.”

In the next few weeks, Bunch plans to meet with the girls returning from a ballclub which posted a 21-5 record. Despite losing seniors Riley Landis and Akhia Miller to graduation, the Yellowjackets return a wealth of experience.

“Obviously, it was a heartbreaker losing in the state championship – we were three minutes from possibly winning it,” Bunch said. “It was a special season. But we have a bulk of our experience coming back.

“I haven’t talked to the girls much. I wanted to let them do their thing and take some time to let them settle in and take a little breath. We will get back in the gym, use a few of our flex days then get ready for fall ball. Before you know it, the basketball season will be here.”

Among the players returning is Bunch’s daughter, Quinn, who started from Day 1 as a freshman – a decision made by coach Sauro from the outset.

“I know travel ball is different from school ball, but it’s basically the same – it’s a privilege that dad gets to coach his daughter,” Danny Bunch said. “There might be some out there who would not want to coach their son or daughter, but I am very proud of what she did last season. I try my best not be harder on her than the rest of the girls.”

“I was reluctant to let her start at the beginning of the season, but Fred said no, he wanted have her go through the growing pains.”

Coach Bunch has three children. Payton is a senior at Williamstown high school and Landry is in sixth grade. His wife, Chas, has supported her husband’s coaching endeavors dating back to their days in Calhoun County.

“I’m fortunate I married a woman who likes athletics as much as I do,” Danny said. “She played softball and her father was a football coach. She has been real supportive and one of my biggest fans. She is the one who gets an earful when I get home.”

Bunch wasted no time working out the details for the upcoming season. He worked alongside athletic director Jill Bryant in terms of schedule. His intention is to prepare his team for the tough road through the postseason, so he has scheduled the likes of Wyoming East, Robert C. Byrd and Summers County to name a few. The Yellowjackets will face 18 different opponents for the 2024-25 campaign.

Where the coaching staff is concerned, Beth Reck will be assistant – a role she filled last season under Parkersburg girls head coach Chris Murray.

“Beth has a great basketball mind – she could coach just about anywhere,” Bunch said.

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com