By Tucker Paquette
@tpaquette17
Spire Academy (OH) head coach Kevin Boyle isn’t a fan of change and something he’ll voluntarily admit. However, the rapidly changing landscape on the financial side of amateur athletics sparked the legendary high school basketball coach to make a rather drastic change: a job switch.
After spending a highly successful 14-year tenure at the helm of high school basketball powerhouse Montverde Academy, Boyle made the move to Spire ahead of this season. His squad has jumped out to a hot start, currently sitting at 5-1 on the season after picking up a 57-48 win over Sunrise Christian Academy on Sunday night at the 2026 Panini Hoophall Classic.
Spire ranks as one of the top teams in the country, and Boyle’s expectations for the program are commensurate with their spot in the national hierarchy.
“The expectations are the same, to hopefully compete to win the national championship,” Boyle said. “I think we have a chance, but there’s probably seven, eight, nine teams that are in that conversation. We’re one of them, but it’s close among a lot of teams.”
Boyle knows a thing or two about national championships, having won eight of them over the course of his 39-year coaching career. Prior to Montverde, Boyle spent 24 years leading St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, N.J. Boyle has been named National Coach of the Year eight times, winning a total of over 850 games and counting.
The list of players Boyle has coached is a star-studded one, led by four No. 1 overall NBA Draft picks. Kyrie Irving played for Boyle at St. Patrick and went first in the 2011 NBA Draft, while Ben Simmons (2016), Cade Cunningham (2021) and Cooper Flagg (2025) were all the first picks in their respective draft classes after playing under Boyle’s watchful eye at Montverde.
The development of his players, the core values his program promotes and the style of basketball he wants his teams to play are all factors that Boyle can at least partially control. However, the current dynamic with NIL, and players seeking and prioritizing lucrative paydays, is something Boyle has much less of a say in. To that end, he deemed a move to Spire was the best way for him to continue to effectively recruit and develop talent.
“It’s trickling in different ways with agents around high school kids,” Boyle said. “That’s going to go that way in the next two, three, four years, and it’s different when you have Spire [as a] privately owned [institution]. Montverde’s a non-profit. It’s a good school with a good 14 years [spent there], but I just thought there’s more opportunity for us to grow [at Spire] with how the game is changing.”
Boyle appreciates the ability to get into a rhythm with a program, so his decision was one that took some real consideration. However, Spire’s desire to have Boyle be their leader stuck out to him, as did the need to lean head-first into NIL and subsequently, player empowerment. The way Boyle sees if, if you’re not involved now, you’re already falling behind.
“I was at St. Patrick’s for 24 years, so I don’t change easy,” Boyle said. “I think they came after me and gave me a good deal, and I think the state of basketball, you may not like NIL in college, but it’s here. If [Clemson University head football coach] Dabo Sweeney doesn’t get into that, Clemson’s not going to get over the hump. It’s part of it.”
At the same time, though, the NIL world is a risky one that necessitates its fair share of balance and care. It gives kids a lot to think about, something Boyle remains mindful of as he plunges into this newfound realm of coaching the sport he loves.
“I think it’s harder on kids today because of people being able to get NIL in college much easier,” Boyle said. “There’s a lot of new, young and some inexperienced agents that are trying to get the kids as sophomores, freshmen. I think that’s a lot of pressure on kids that age. It’s the real world, but it’s a lot to handle.”
When push comes to shove, though, Boyle is still a basketball coach first. He wants to help his players reach their full potential, and his meticulous attention to detail goes a long way towards helping them do just that. To that end, Boyle is already locked in on preparing for Spire’s matchup Monday at 5 p.m. against Brewster Academy (NH), the final game of this year’s Hoophall slate.
“Tomorrow’s a big game,” Boyle said. “Brewster’s played well. We’ve got to be really disciplined on defense. They run a lot of plays with layers. If the first action doesn’t work, they have a second or third action to get into. I also think that we have to get the roll going to the rim against them. I think that’s an area that could be open.”
(Photo by River Mitchell/The Student)