NEW MADISON, Ohio — The excitement is building in New Madison. 

The Tri-Village Patriots are looking to win their second OHSAA Div. IV State Championship in school history. The whole student body, from the preschool to the high school, is fired up. 

What You Need To Know

  • Tri-Village is headed back to the state semifinals for the first time since 2015

  • Head coach Josh Sagester and his family are tied deeply to the program

  • Sagester’s father is an assistant coach, daughter Rylee is a girls hoops star, and son Trey is a ball boy for the varsity team

  • The community is rallying around the team, holding a pep assembly to ramp up the excitement
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Josh Sagester is the school’s superintendent and head coach of the boys' basketball team. He’s been around the program for a long time, so he knows how special these runs are, especially for a basketball-crazed community like New Madison. 

“We’re very fortunate here at Tri-Village,” Sagester said. “We have a wonderful community, with a great support system with our community and our parents.” 

But Josh isn’t the only Sagester helping to lead the Patriots to the promised land. His dad, Mick, is an assistant coach. His daughter Rylee is a decorated player on the girls' team with four Division I college scholarship offers, and his son Trey is an eighth-grade basketball player, who is also a ballboy for the varsity team. 

“It is kind of all in the family,” Josh Sagester said. “Very fortunate and very excited to continue to share their success and our team successes with one another. It’s very nice and we continue to make special memories as they’re a part of our everyday happenings." 

Trey said he considers himself lucky to be around a team experiencing so much success. 

“It means a lot to be around all the community and the basketball team,” Trey Sagester said. “It gets me better and helps me with my game getting to practice with these guys every day.” 

Trey’s grandfather Mick said the Sagester family has worked very hard to make the program successful.

“Basketball has been a passion for our family for a long time,” Mick Sagester said. “And to have your family with you in something that we all love, basketball and our family, it don’t get any better than that." 

The only thing that would make it better would be bringing home their first title since 2015.

“We’re excited for our kids here to have this opportunity and excited for our community to be able to share in it with us,” Josh Sagester said.

Tri-Village faces Antwerp at 2 p.m. Saturday. Viewers can catch the live action on Spectrum Channel 314.

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