Meet The New Guys: Cole Portz (Lancaster Catholic)

Written by: Andy Herr on October 15, 2026

The list of their last few head coaches could just as easily be etched onto the L-L’s version of a coaching Mount Rushmore. Hard to argue considering how one, Danny Walck, sits 3rd on the league’s all-time coaching wins list currently while their last coach, Joe Klazas, just wrapped up a tenure that included 352 wins, good for 6th all-time. 5th if we’re solely counting L-L-only victories. Ironically, the coach sandwiched in between those two, Bill Southward, “only” won 144 games — including a 35-0 state championship season in 2003. Needless to say, when you’re the head coach at Lancaster Catholic, it comes with an onus that’s altogether different. 

Ironically, the Crusaders’ newest head coach really isn’t all that new. In fact, you could argue that he is going into his third year. Or perhaps his second. Or, if you’re basing it on his time officially in charge, his first. For record-keeping, we’re saying it’s his second.

And what an encore it figures to be. 

Last season, after Coach Klazas officially stepped aside and formally retired not even a handful of games into the campaign, Cole Portz took over as he did two years prior when he served in the acting head coach capacity as Klazas had to step aside momentarily for health-related reasons that year. To be frank, it was a remarkable turned that Portz engineered last winter while in charge as he took what was an 0-3 team at the time all the way to the postseason by virtue of a 10-14 mark from that point onward, culminating it all with a visit to the league, district, and state tournaments, the last of which saw the Crusaders fall to the eventual state runner-up, Philadelphia West Catholic, in the opening round. As a result, Portz was awarded Coach of Year honors in Section 3 by LLHoops.

To be sure, there’s reason to be excited once again about Lancaster Catholic hoops. 

We recently chatted with Coach Portz about what those previous two experiences leading the ship were like for someone so fresh into the coaching game following his own playing days for Catholic not that long prior, what makes Catholic teams so routinely good as the year goes along, in addition to what makes him most excited about this year coming among other topics. 

While it’s admittedly been a few years since Lancaster Catholic was up near the head of the class of the entire L-L as they so often have been, the successful days of old might soon be back on the horizon. It’s only fitting that a recent alum be the one to perhaps lead them there.

Enjoy 

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