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Travis Priddy will be the new head boys basketball coach at Effingham County High School beginning with the 2022-23 season. He was a teacher at Effingham County last year, but has been a head coach for several schools in the area in years past.

Jake Darling was promoted from the Effingham head coach to ECHS Athletic Director in mid-June of this year. He told Prep Sports Report at that time that he and the school were “pretty close” to making a decision on the next Rebels’ head coach. He replaced Matt Huntley as the Athletics Director.

Darling coached the Rebels for nine seasons and had an overall record of 130-88 (.596).

“I’m very thankful to the Effingham County High School administration, Coach Darling and the Board of Educations for this opportunity,” Priddy told PSR in a text exchange on July 29. “Coach Darling has done a tremendous job of building Effingham County basketball into one of the top three or four programs in this area.

“We hope to build off the foundation he laid to try to take this program to another level.”

Priddy last coached at Hilton Head Christian Academy in South Carolina for two seasons (2019-20, 2020-21) and before that, at Savannah Christian Preparatory School for five seasons (2014-15 season - 2017-18 season). At HHCA, Priddy was 24-19 while leading the Eagles to the state playoffs in both years. HHCA reached the state quarterfinals in his final season.

While at the helm for the Raiders, Priddy led SCPS to the state playoffs three times, including a Region 3A East title campaign in 2015-16 and a Sweet 16 appearance in the state playoffs in 2017-18. He was 68-58 at SCPS.

For four seasons prior to SCPS, Priddy coached at Freedom High School (2009-10, 2010-11) and Gulf High School (2012-13, 2013-14) in Florida.

In 2007, he arrived in Savannah for the first time as a head coach at Savannah Country Day School. There, Priddy helped to revive a struggling Hornets’ hoops program and led the school to back-to-back state playoff appearances in his only two seasons at SCDS. In 2008-09, he guided the Hornets to the Region Championship game and secured the first ever home state playoff game for the program.

His Hornet teams were 32-18 overall.

Combined at the two Savannah private schools and at HHCA, Priddy put together an overall record of 124-95 (.566).

“We have a tremendous group of young men coming back this season,” said Priddy. “We are looking forward to an exciting season of basketball.”

FOLLOW Travis Jaudon on Twitter/Instagram @JaudonSports. Email him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.