Seneca hires El Paso-Gridley’s Nathaniel Meiss as next boys basketball coach

Seneca High School on Monday announced the hiring of Nathaniel Meiss as the Fighting Irish’s next head varsity boys basketball coach.

“We are very excited to become part of the Seneca Fighting Irish community,” Meiss said in a statement released by the school.

Meiss will be taking over at Seneca after a successful 16-season run as the head coach at another of the state’s winning Class 2A programs, El Paso-Gridley. Over his 16 seasons coaching the Titans, Meiss’ teams posted a 306-148 record (.674 winning percentage) with seven 20-win seasons, including last winter’s 22-9 mark, and four Class 2A regional championships.

“We are incredibly excited to bring Coach Meiss into the Seneca Fighting Irish family,” Seneca superintendent Dan Stecken said. “His proven track record, strong character and ability to build meaningful relationships with students and the community make him the ideal leader for our boys basketball program.

“This is a tremendous step forward for our athletics department.”

Meiss replaces Russ Witte, who announced his retirement as coach back in April after accumulating a 284-188 record (.602 winning percentage) at Seneca, leading the Irish to three Class 2A regional championships and recording more than 300 wins at the varsity level for his career.

Seneca went 25-9 last season and won the Tri-County Conference championship but will see all-stater/three-time Ottawa Times Boys Basketball Player of the Year Paxton Giertz graduate later this month.