Highly Successful Dan Liedtke Hired as Boys’ Basketball Coach at Shenandoah

By Jeff Harrison

   You can’t keep a good coach down!

After an incredible career at Fort Frye High School where he coached both boys’ and girls’ basketball, Dan Liedtke is back on the bench, but this time it’s at rival Shenandoah.

Liedtke, who was awarded a supplemental contract as boys’ basketball coach by the Noble Local Board of Education on Tuesday, said he had been looking for the right opportunity since he wasn’t renewed as the Fort Frye girls’ coach following the 2024-25 season.

“It was always in the back of my mind that if the right opportunity to go somewhere different came up, would I want to take on that challenge,” said Liedke. “I realize I’m older now, but hopefully wiser in some ways, and I would always be questioning myself if I didn’t take a shot.”

Liedtke was inducted into the District 12 Basketball Hall of Fame in early April, and he hinted at that time that he likely wasn’t done coaching.

“You might want to hold off on that,” he said when informed of his selection. “I still want to coach and I’m seeing what’s out there.”

Liedtke, who will be meeting with his new team next week, brings a couple of assistants he’s familiar with to be on the bench with him. Todd Engle, a former Fort Frye girls’ hoop coach who has been manager of the highly-successful Beverly/Lowell American Legion baseball team for many years, will serve as Liedtke’s varsity assistant while Rod Strahler – who played on Liedtke’s first team at Fort Frye and also was an assistant for several years, will be a volunteer assistant. Rob Wukelich will return as the Zeps’ junior varsity coach.

“Having guys that I’m familiar with helped push it over the hump as far as deciding to do this,” said Liedtke. “It’ll be a good staff that’s mostly familiar with my program and coaching style.”

Liedtke knows past success doesn’t automatically equate to future success, but it will be his goal to do just that.

“When you have success year after year like we were able to do at Fort Frye, it becomes expected,” he related. “I won’t change how I do things because they worked, but I don’t have a magic wand and it will take a lot of hard work to obtain success.

Liedtke’s resume is impressive, to say the least! When you combine his success as a boys’ and girls’ coach at Fort Frye, Liedtke amassed an amazing 759-259 record. In fact, Liedtke has more total coaching wins than the Shenandoah boys’ basketball program has in its history. The Zeps’ all-time record (dating back to the first year of the school in 1963-64) is 730-646, with another District 12 Hall of Famer – Dan Schwieterman – owning 452 of the SHS victories.

“Dan and I are very close,” Liedtke said of Schwieterman, also a District 12 Basketball Hall of Famer, “and he had a lot of success here. I hope to build a program where you see the enthusiasm develop and it’s my job to make that happen.”

Liedke is the second hire from Fort Frye for Shenandoah, which a month ago named Trey Engle – who currently coaches the Cadets’ baseball team – as the Zeps’ Athletic Director.

After a short stint as boys’ freshman coach, he became the head boys’ coach for 27 years (1985-2012), spent three years coaching the boys and girls (2010-2012) and continued as girls’ coach through the 2024-25 season for a 16-year run with the Lady Cadets.

Liedtke’s boys’ teams – who compiled a 433-172 record in 27 seasons – won six OVAC championships along with 17 Pioneer Valley Conference titles. In tournament play, The Fort won 12 sectionals, three district and one regional, with the 1999 team reaching the OHSAA Division III “Final Four” where they lost to Bedford Chanel to finish with a sparkling 24-2 record. The Cadets also had two unbeaten regular seasons.

With the boys’ team, he was UPI Division III Coach of the Year in 1988, AP Division III Coach of the Year in 1999 and OHSBCA Division III Coach of the Year in 2003. He was also Coach of the Year in the East District (6 times), District 12 (5 times) and Pioneer Valley Conference (8 times).

Liedtke’s girls’ teams – with an overall record of 326-87 in 16 seasons – captured seven OVAC championships, 10 PVC titles and one Twin-State League crown. In OHSAA tournament action, the Lady Cadets claimed 16 sectional crowns, eight district championships and three regional titles, reaching the “Final Four” in 2013; and 2025.

With the girls’ team, he was AP Division III Coach of the Year in 2012 along with top honors in the East District (2 times), District 12 (6 times) and PVC (4 times).

All told, Liedtke was an OVAC Overall Coach of the Year finalist four times. He coached in the Pepsi/District 12 All-Star Game, the OVAC All-Star Game and the BACF All-Star Game as well as coaching the East Ohio girls’ team in the 2015 Nike National Invitational in Chicago.

Liedtke received the OHSBCA Bob Arnzen Award in 2004 and the Paul Walker Award in 2021; was Ohio’s nominee for the NFHS Girls’ Coach of the Year Award in 2022 received the OVAC Rich Saffield Girls’ Coaches Award in 2026 in addition to the District 12 Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame induction.

As an athlete, he earned third team All-Ohio honors as a senior at New Philadelphia High School (Class of 1978), also gaining All-Eastern District and All-District 5 honors after averaging 22.2 points per game. He was inducted into the NPHS Hall of Fame in 2017.
He was also a track standout, qualifying for the OHSAA State Championships in the 300-meter hurdles and also setting the Quakers’ school record in that event.
He played hoops at California (Pa.) and Kent State-Tuscarawas and then transferred to Rio Grande College but suffered a career-ending injury there.

Liedtke and his wife, Loretta, have three daughters – Morgan (Baker), Megan (Waugh), Makayla – and four grandchildren – Kya, Kinley, Brantley and Carson – with a fifth on the way.