Routt Catholic hires Josh Krumwiede as next boys basketball coach

Routt Catholic turned to a familiar name as it looks to protect the momentum built under Will Whalen, hiring Josh Krumwiede to lead the boys basketball program after Whalen’s retirement. The move keeps the Rockets in the hands of a coach with recent winning experience in west-central Illinois, a detail that carries real weight after Routt’s breakthrough season.

Krumwiede arrived with a strong local resume. He coached South County for the past two seasons and went 39-26 there, including 20 wins in 2025-26. Before that, he spent three years at Athens. For Routt, that means the school did not have to look far outside the region for its next coach, and the hire gives the Rockets someone already familiar with the conference landscape and the expectations that come with small-school basketball in the area.

The job comes with heightened pressure because Krumwiede is stepping into a program that just made history. Routt finished 30-5 in 2025-26, set a school record for wins, and captured its first-ever sectional title with a 49-45 victory over Mount Sterling Brown County on March 6 in Nokomis. The Rockets then reached the Class 1A super-sectional in Champaign before falling to Goreville 60-43 on March 9. The Illinois High School Association lists Routt’s season record at 30-5, reinforcing just how high the bar has been raised.

Whalen’s departure after 11 seasons closed the book on the coach who led Routt through its most successful stretch, but it also left the program with an unusual challenge: replacing a veteran after a landmark year rather than during a rebuild. That matters for players coming back next season, for families watching offseason workouts, and for a fan base in Jacksonville and Morgan County that has grown used to Routt basketball carrying major local significance.

Krumwiede’s hiring also fits into a larger period of change at Routt. The school was already looking for another coach after longtime football coach Barry Creviston stepped down, and WLDS reported that Creviston’s wife, Val, will become the new girls basketball coach next year. For Routt, the transition is not just about one bench. It is about keeping a tightly connected athletic culture steady while preserving the familiar feel that has long defined Rocket sports.