New Lexington’s Jeremy Duerr Resigns as Boys Basketball Head Coach

NEW LEXINGTON, OH – After a decade at the helm of the New Lexington boys basketball program, head coach Jeremy Duerr has resigned.

Duerr leaves the Panthers as the winningest coach in program history with 128 career wins, a mark he set this past season. He led the Panthers to a Muskingum Valley League small school title in 2024, followed by a state district championship in Division IV in 2025.

It was far from easy for Duerr to step away from the role, and that it was not just one thing that determined his decision.

“I guess I don’t know if there ever is truly a ‘right time'” says Duerr. “A part of me felt like I just simply needed a break from it and that I had lost a little bit of fire to do it at the level that the players and program deserve.”

He added that he and his wife are expecting their fourth child at the end of the summer, plus a pursuit of an administration role helped lead to this decision as well. After everything that Duerr accomplished in his decade with the Panthers, he’s built up quite the connection with his players and the community.

“The community and district have been so great to me and my family. The relationships with the players and their families over the years are irreplaceable and I can’t think them enough for what they have done for New Lexington basketball.”

Even following a difficult 2025-2026 season in his final campaign with the Panthers, Duerr thanked his players for allowing him to be their coach. “It was very difficult for me, because I felt like I was letting the guys down in a way. It was hard to actually say it out loud to them that I was no longer going to be their coach.”

After taking over for the 2016-2017 season, Duerr knew it was going to take time to build a winning program, before finally securing his first winning season with 17 victories in the 2020-2021 campaign.

Duerr added “I am most proud of the evolution of the program from where it was when we took over, to where it had gotten and the way that we went about it.”

After a decade of prominence, including two title winning seasons in as many years, Duerr says that he has been fortunate to develop some great relationships during that time.

He adds that he is not ruling out a return to coaching at some point, but that is a decision for another time.