Lutheran West announced on Monday that it hired Julia Riley as its next head girls’ basketball coach and program director.
Riley, a 2016 graduate of Independence High School, previously served as an assistant coach at Independence and at Revere, in addition to offering individual and group lessons, and serving as an AAU coach for a boy’s 8th-9th-grade team.
“I just feel so grateful that I can continue to use the love and passion that I have for the game with this program,” Riley said. “Basketball has always been an escape for me, ever since I was little. No matter what was going on in my family life, basketball was always something I could turn to, and my love for the game at a young age gave me a greater confidence to do more with it. I can still use the game to reach people and to inspire them.”
Riley, who graduated from Cleveland State University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, will also serve as an English teacher in the middle school.
After serving as an assistant coach for several seasons, Riley is eager for her first opportunity as a head coach.
“It’s definitely going to be an adjustment,” she said. “It’s going to be a challenge that I’m looking forward to. It’s definitely going to be an adjustment, but I do think my experience in those (assistant) roles has led me here.”
As she prepares for the 2025-2026 season, Riley knows she’ll have to mold her program around the players in the program.
“A strong offense is built around the strengths of the team, so once I get to spend time with the team this summer for summer league and open gyms, I’m really going to be exposed to what is going to work best for us this upcoming season,” she said. “As far as my philosophy, I want to add value to all of these girls’ lives, and to instill dedication, hard work, and help them to become confident young women, and just use the game to reach them beyond the court.”
While Riley hopes to improve upon Lutheran West’s 8-14 record last season, she’s more focused on developing the program she envisions.
“A lot of coaches measure success with wins and losses, but I’m more focused this year on building an environment filled with confident, hard-working, dedicated young women,” she said. “I know once that is established, and once we get things moving in the right direction, the success regarding wins will follow. I’m more focused on the team, building them up, and establishing a new community.”
