“Another week together”: Beau and Tom Siegfried of Louisville basketball treasure their state run

Louisville— A two-hour journey in a school van doesn’t seem like much fun at first glance.

However, there isn’t really a more ideal way for Tom and Beau Siegfried to spend a Saturday afternoon than with a father, a son, a clipped net, a regional championship trophy, and a lifetime of basketball memories shared in one vehicle.

Tom Siegfried, the boys basketball coach at Louisville High School, remarked, “It was one of those times you wish you could just keep and not move forward because the next day it’s going to be behind us.”

For Siegfried and his senior point guard son, the journey home from Columbus following the Leopards’ victory against Bishop Hartley in the regional championship should not be the last.

Louisville coach Tom Siegfried with his son Beau as they prepare for a OHSAA division III boys basketball state semifinal Sunday. Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

On Sunday at 6 p.m., Louisville (22-5) takes on Garfield Heights (23-2) in a Division III state quarterfinal at Memorial Field House. This is the program’s first journey to the final four, or “The Program’s” as Tom would say.

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For father and son, the voyage has been quite the one. When Beau helped the Leopards win their first district title during his father’s now eighteen-year career as head coach, he was a freshman role player on the varsity team.

Louisville head basketball coach Tom Siegfried celebrates with Beau Siegfried, 3, after their victory over Howland in the DII district final at Ashtabula Lakeside on Friday, March 4, 2022.

In a Division II regional final, that 2021–22 squad ultimately faced eventual state champion St. Vincent–St. Mary. Louisville lost at the district level and was promoted to Division I for the following two years.

However, under the leadership of Beau, star big man Brayden Gross, and an all-senior rotation that has won 17 of its past 18 games, the squad this year made it to the state finals.

Louisville coach Tom Siegfried with senior Brayden Gross during a team practices for a OHSAA division III boys basketball state semifinal Sunday. Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

The father and kid are making an effort to savour their last time together.

“We’ve always wanted this to happen the way it’s happened,” Beau Siegfried stated. “In that sense, it’s been fantastic. However, I believe I can speak for him when I say that I’m not ready for it to stop just yet. After that victory on Saturday, it was good to have a whole week to repeat the entire process. Just spending another week together was rather rejuvenating, even more so than the regional title.

Beau’s freshman season was not the first time Tom coached his son. Tom has essentially been Beau’s coach since fourth grade, with the exception of two years of middle school basketball.

He began coaching him in AAU at that time on the Gurus of Go, a team that eventually included several of the best players in the region for the Class of 2025. This includes current Louisville teammates Gross, Ashton Marshall, and Devin Bailey; Jackson’s Mitch Finefrock and Kyle Monterrubio; Hoover’s Crew Cain; and GlenOak’s Reese Zerger and Bryce Broom.

Louisville’s Beau Siegfried takes a shot against St. Edward, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.

When you take into account all of Beau’s young teams, AAU, travel ball, and varsity games, Tom thinks that he has coached almost 400 of them. The number of kilometres they have travelled together in the name of hoops is unknown to God.

Please pardon him for his pride as he sees his son, who is now a prospect at Ashland University, guide the Leopards into a final four battle with Garfield Heights and its own father-son team, Ohio State recruit Marcus Johnson and head coach Sonny Johnson.

Beau, who is six feet tall, leads Louisville in assists (470) and 3-pointers (178) throughout his career. In addition to shooting 40.9 percent from three-point range, he averages 13.8 points, 6.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.1 steals.

“To see him raise his game to another level has meant a lot to me as a coach and a dad because I feel rewarded with the fact we’ve done something right all of these years,” Tom commented.

Along the way, something amusing has happened. It is referred to by Tom as a “transfer of power.” Tom used to guide and educate his kid, but these days he asks for his input. Tom places the 6-7 Gross on the same basketball IQ level as Beau, claiming to have never taught a more cerebral athlete.

“I think early on in his career I didn’t understand how much he grasped,” Tom stated. “My assistants would then remark, ‘Beau understands everything that’s going on,’ while we were going through it. He will respond, “Oh, is that what you ran back with Drew Noble in 2016?” when I mention a play. “What?” I ask myself. It’s crazy.

The child was obviously listening the entire time.

Louisville’s Beau Siegfried takes a shot against St. Edward, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.

Beau has learnt to value how his father has challenged him and his colleagues, whether it was via rigorous training or a cruel schedule that got harder every season. This season, Louisville defeated three reigning state champions—St. Ignatius, Richmond Heights, and Kettering Alter—proving that they were up to the task.

“We want to get better,” acknowledged Beau. “We must challenge ourselves and step outside of our comfort zone if we want to improve. He has undoubtedly done that to our squad, I can assure you. It has undoubtedly contributed to our success.

Being the son of a coach has its advantages and disadvantages.

Access to the gym is one of the benefits.

said Beau, “If I want to come in here at 9:30 on a Saturday night, I can grab his swipe card and shoot whenever.”

For a hoops enthusiast like Beau, the daily basketball immersion was fantastic.

Louisville’s Beau Siegfried brings the ball down the court in the second half against Richmond Heights’ DeErick Barber Jr., Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.

The strain of having a demanding father, living up to the role of a coach’s son, and hearing rumours of partiality are the flip side of that.

Beau has now repeatedly shown himself to be a capable player. Furthermore, his father may be more pleased with the man his kid has grown into than with the athlete he is.

“I could not have envisioned getting to this point and having the type of person and player and leader that I have, that just treats everybody right,” stated Tom. “There are a lot of eyes on you as a coach’s son, and the way he carries himself is remarkable.”

Louisville coach Tom Siegfried with his son Beau as they prepare for a OHSAA division III boys basketball state semifinal Sunday. Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

Beau, a gregarious young man with ambitions on his own landscaping business and a passion for vintage vehicles, is impossible to hate (if you want to see him light up, ask him about his freshly repaired 1981 Pontiac Firebird). He is a sharp, tough, and straightforward player.

Regarding his father, well, he has a history of offending people.

Tom is so motivated and enthusiastic that he doesn’t care too much about offending people in the process of achieving his objective.

Perhaps Beau inherited part of his mother’s elegance, Cheryl, who, according to Tom, gives the Siegfried clan perspective. In fact, Tom likes to joke that his daughter Lauren, who recently completed her collegiate volleyball career at West Liberty, is more like him than Beau in terms of being ruthless.

“I’ve contemplated putting her on my staff if she was local because the kids would think I was nice if she was around,” he jokes.

Tom’s designation of Louisville basketball as “The Program,” mostly on social media, is arguably the most common manner he has irritated outsiders. He laughs at what it has devolved into (and presumably likes that it raises blood pressure).

In order to establish a brand for his basketball team in a football town, he began using it in 2015.

“I always start it off by saying, ‘I haven’t won any state titles. “Dru Joyce is not me,” Siegfried said. “It’s more about whether this will work in this town and whether we would actually be able to elevate basketball to its current level. It must be about the community, the youth program, the sixth man (student section), financial support, and all of it. People believed it when it came to it.

“It may come across as arrogant to other coaches, who might ask, ‘Why are you calling yourself The Program?'” And I would give it my all if I were the other coaches. Without a doubt, I would bring that up. It makes our chest a target. However, I believe we have a soft spot for the objective. It sort of makes more sense if people know what it is, in my opinion.

Louisville boys varsity head coach Tom Siegfried reacts to a call against his team during a home game vs. Richmond Heights, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.

When Siegfried succeeded Matt Miglich as head coach of Louisville in 2007, he desired continuity. He’s succeeded. Louisville has won 12 consecutive seasons.

However, the Leopards have advanced to a new level during the past four years, going 84-20 with two district titles, one regional title, and other high-profile victories over some of the state’s top teams.

Siegfried refers to it as a “golden age” because of the calibre of talent he has encountered.

After two fantastic years at Division II Findlay, 2023 graduate Will Aljancic, a two-time Repository Stark County Player of the Year, is currently looking at Division I alternatives on the transfer portal. 2024 graduate Hayden Nigro, who won county player of the year the previous season, is currently attending Walsh University, where Gross will be attending next season.

Louisville’s Beau Siegfried goes in for a layup against St. Edward in the first half, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.

This year’s squad also includes Tate, Aljancic’s brother, in addition to Beau and Gross. At 12.1 points per game, the 6-5 Aljancic, who will play baseball and basketball at Malone University, has established himself as a dependable third scorer for the Leopards. The athletic Marshall, a football recruit from Walsh University, is the team’s best defender. Austin Wade, a 6-6 football prospect from Clarion University, plays off the bench.

Tickets for The Program in the State go on-sale Today at Noon. I recommend getting them early! The link is below. @LepsAD @LouisvilleSchls @LouisvilleLeps @TheKennyRoda @JonBozeka @3rdcoast_Newt @OHSFBMedia @RayJeske1 @CourtsideSamLee @AshlandU_Hoops @WalshCavsHoops @Malone_MBB https://t.co/5u3cOruWTY pic.twitter.com/Y2quBpQ9Zq

— Tom Siegfried (@Leopardbball) March 10, 2025

For Siegfried, 50, reaching state and perhaps taking home a state title would appear to be the ideal farewell.

Louisville boys basketball head coach Tom Siegfried talks with a referee during a game against CVCA, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.

When asked if this will be his final season as head coach of Louisville, Siegfried responded, “We’ll have to see.”

After the season, Siegfried, a history teacher who works as a fence and deck contractor in the summer, intends to meet with the school management. His son’s college years are something he does not want to miss. Can he accomplish that and yet coach to the standards he has set?

Siegfried said, “I would never do it half-ass,” “I would never do that to the children, and I simply cannot do that. They are not treated fairly.

When asked how his dad would feel about not coaching, Beau replied, “He’d be fine in the summer because he’d be putting up enough decks and fences.” As for the winter, I have no idea. He could lose his mind at home.

That’s a topic for another time. There is a possibility for the Leopards to advance to a state championship game.

And it would imply adding another week to the season. The University of Dayton Arena will host the D3 state final on March 21 at 1 p.m.

“It’s time to get greedy,” declared Tom Siegfried. “Give me another seven days that I can put off the inevitable.”