By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Perhaps Jackson Ryan’s starry future was predicable. His father had to rush from BNL Fieldhouse, just prior to the start of a junior varsity game, and race to Bloomington for his son’s arrival at the hospital. He grew up in the gymnasium as Mark coached Bedford North Lawrence’s varsity for nine seasons. He graduated from the high school in 2013. No matter where his journey took him, this was home.
Life indeed travels in circles. The younger Ryan, at one time the protege, has become the new master of the program, his former playground is now his office as he takes over the reins of a team in transition.
Ryan was named the new BNL head coach, following his father’s footsteps, during the North Lawrence Community Schools board meeting on Thursday. He’s the 11th coach in program history, the third (after his father and Damon Bailey) to guide his alma mater. This historic Ryan Redux is the first father-son link in the BNL coaching lineage.
He succeeds Kurt Godlevske, who stepped down (to move to Michigan and care for his parents) after two seasons. At 31 years old, he has paid his dues, with previous coaching stops on the staffs at Orleans, Terre Haute North (JV for two years), Seymour (JV for one season), Mitchell (varsity coach for four years) and BNL (JV last season). No matter what colors he wore, BNL was in his blood.
”This is home,” Ryan said. “There’s no next job or stepping stone. This is it. We’ve always called Bedford home. With me literally growing up in this gym, playing here, this is a dream come true, at your alma mater.
“I really enjoyed being an assistant, learning from Coach G and getting to know everyone in the program. But I knew, when the opportunity came, I wanted to be the next guy. So it’s time to step up.”
After his marriage and young family, basketball has been his timeline marker. He watched Mark enjoy tremendous success (126-72, winning the program’s last sectional championship in 2001) during his formative years, he averaged 5.9 points and 4.0 rebounds as a senior. After playing for one season at Greenville College, he transferred to Indiana State and served as a team manager for the Sycamores. He has seen the game from every possible angle.
His priority will be ending that trophy shortage, and provide long-term stability for a program that has now had four head coaches in nine-plus years.
“What the program was in the 1990s, to what it is today, it’s a different era of BNL basketball right now,” Ryan said. “It’s an awesome opportunity to take over a program that has such a rich tradition. That’s not something we’re going to run from.”
The immediate challenge ahead will be significantly difficult. BNL, coming off a 9-13 season (only the ninth losing campaign in the program’s 51 years), lost 82 percent of its scoring and 74 percent of its rebounding when seven seniors departed. Ryan’s junior varsity went 7-13 last year. The Stars are staring at a major rebuild while competing in a sectional and conference with the defending Class 4A state champion (Jeffersonville) and the next up-and-coming superstar (at New Albany).
“There are a ton of question marks,” Ryan said. “We need to figure out what our identity is, and that starts defensively. We will have to hang our hat on the traditional BNL basketball – getting into people, getting into passing lanes and trying to be nasty defensively.
“There are a lot of questions offensively. It will be trial and error during the summer (as the Stars play approximately 20 games during the camp season In June), figuring out what we can be great at doing. It’s BNL, so we want to be fundamentally sound, we want to outwork teams and play together. That will take time to develop.
“It starts with the people, and we already have that relationship with our guys. That’s big. Then we have to find the right people to fill out our staff. For me, it’s key to get a feel for the kids, for them to get a feel for me and what we’re trying to do. We won’t set the world on fire. But we can set the foundation.”
Ryan showed that type of progress with the Bluejackets, improving their win total from his first year (3-14 during the COVID nightmare) to his last (12 in 2022-23).
“Jackson is a talented young head coach with outstanding character and a positive presence,” BNL athletic director Adam Yates said. “He’s knowledgable, caring, and passionate about BNL basketball and will strive for excellence at the helm of the program.
“He’s the kind of coach you want your kid to play for. He will implement the values of hard work, discipline, and mental toughness, and be a great role model for our student athletes. Jackson takes a lot of pride in what he does and will help steer the program in the right direction.”
BNL has work to do. The Stars have gone one-and-done in the postseason nine times in the last 10 years.
”The biggest thing is not putting an expectation on wins and losses,” Ryan said. “If we are progressing, as long as we’re coachable and there is growth, I think the wins and losses will take care of themselves. It will take time to compete with those other teams, at that level, on our schedule. So as long as we’re growing, I would label that as successful.”
BNL BOYS BASKETBALL HISTORY
Coach Record Years
Bob Masterson 24-24 (1974-76)
Mike Sorrell 86-33 (1976-1981)
Dan Bush 226-70 (1981-1993)
Mark Mathews 62-11 (1993-1996)
Mark Ryan 126-72 (1996-2005)
Damon Bailey 23–19 (2005-07)
Jamie Hudson 107-96 (2007-2016)
Matt Seifers 36-35 (2016-19)
Jeff Hein 56-40 (2019-23)
Kurt Godlevske 22-22 (2023-25)
Totals 768-422 (1974-2025)
