East Baltimore street renamed for longtime Lake Clifton coach Herman Harried

A new street sign at Harford Road and Saint Lo Drive now reads Coach Herman “Tree” Harried Way, turning a familiar East Baltimore corner near Lake Clifton High School into a public tribute to the coach who has built his career there since 1997. Harried stood before dozens of friends, family members, community members and colleagues on Thursday, June 25, and said he hoped the sign meant he “must have done something right and something good” for his name to be up there.

For nearly three decades at Lake Clifton, Harried has become one of the city’s most recognizable high school basketball figures. Harried has more than 500 wins, including a 513-146 record in 27 seasons in one profile and a separate 537-155 listing in another. USA Basketball credits his Lake Clifton teams with four Baltimore City titles, four state titles and eight trips to the Maryland state tournament final four, while other reports have placed his state championship total at six.

The honor on the street comes years after Lake Clifton already put his name on school property. The basketball court at the high school was named for Harried in April 2017. He was selected to coach the East squad in the 2025 McDonald’s All-American Game, and he was nominated for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in late 2025 and early 2026.

Frank Johnson III, president of Elite Athletes for Christ, said Harried has done more than coach basketball, helping young people think about careers and life choices beyond the court.

Part of the job is pushing children to think in years, not just in the moment. He called that work difficult and frustrating, but worth it, and told the crowd, “I got regular family, ‘coach family,’ everybody here is family.”