So, as the world of high school and college athletics increasingly gravitates toward selectability and exposure, what is a coach to do other than work where their feet are? But building a winner isn’t just about school pride anymore – at least not in the same sense.

Wins by and for the community will always mean more than those won by a school that either attracted or continues to attract talent away from smaller or less competitive communities. For a long time, the success of a school’s athletics department relied heavily on the community that supported, raised and molded its student athletes.

At Roy High, and a lot of Northern Utah schools, basketball coaches like Ryan Hannah, the Region 5 Coach of the Year, are working against a new world to keep such a sensation possible.

The Royals, finishing a game shy of 20 wins after producing just six a year ago, captured the boys basketball program’s first region title in a decade-plus in Hannah’s third season at the helm.

The team changed virtually overnight to become one of the best tickets in town with senior stars Boston Greenhalgh and Jesse Jones — all with a roster that saw six different players transfer out following a disappointing finish to the 2024-25 campaign.

Greenhalgh averaged just 5.6 points per game as a junior, and Jones played just 11 games last season.

“A lot of players will base success off of wins and I think it’s really — to do that, if that were the case, then really the only successful team in each classification each year would be the state champion,” Hannah said.

He continued:

“For 5A, you’re looking at one of 30-plus teams. Something we tried to focus on at Roy was not the wins as a sum but just focusing on winning one game at a time (and) that really helped us this year.”

Region 5 was hardly a cakewalk, either. Mike Russell and West Field competed directly with the Royals for a region share right down to the final few games of the regular season. Corey Melaney and Fremont started the season 2-8 and finished third in region at 7-5.

Roy dropped just two region matchups: a 60-55 loss at Clearfield on Jan. 9 and a 47-42 loss at Box Elder on Jan. 21. No. 7 Springville bounced the No. 10 Royals out of the second round of the 5A tourney.

At the conclusion of the season, the region’s coaches voted Hannah, now 37-36 in three seasons at Roy, their Coach of the Year.

“I don’t think any of our coaches in region really do things to get that award,” Hannah said. “It’s definitely meant a lot to see all the hard work that our team put in result in success. The awards — you don’t play the game for the awards; you don’t coach the game for the awards, but it’s nice to be recognized for all the effort that we put in.”

Moreover, Hannah is especially proud of those players that stuck around to see just how high Roy’s ceiling could go. In the case of Jones, the Royals’ 6-foot-6 starting center, it’s a homecoming of sorts for the school’s basketball program.

Jones, who averaged 12.9 points and 8.6 boards per game as a senior, actually began his prep career at Ogden High despite being raised inside Roy’s boundary, Hannah said. Jones transferred to Roy as a junior and hung around for his final season of high school ball.

“I want to make sure that Roy boys continue to play at Roy, which isn’t illegal at all,” Hannah said.

Encouraging local student-athletes to play local isn’t anywhere on the same level as the recruiting thrust upon minors by other coaches.

As an example, Roy’s football program has multiple, talented Roy products – New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart and Utah Tech commit Isaiah Morris to name two specifics – as does Corner Canyon and other schools around the state.

But understand, too, that Corner Canyon’s rise as a football prowess is built on elite coaching, the same any school looks for throughout the hiring process. It should surprise nobody that Eric Kjar has made recruiting strides at Weber State already.

Don’t get me wrong – There are legitimate reasons a student-athlete may change schools, but there’s a real argument to be made about just how much coaches are doing to keep local kids just that, local.

Hannah, a coach and teacher in the Roy community, is looking out for his side of the fence.

“The dynamic of not really knowing who’s on your team every year definitely impacts things,” Hannah said. “Beyond that, there’s always rumors of kids wanting to leave and I don’t know if they actually intend on leaving or if they just want to be validated and told how good they are and that we don’t want them to leave.”

At the end of the day, if a kid wants to play where his or her house is, they’re going to do it.

The changing narrative, though, is that obtaining the wandering eyes of a college scout isn’t doable at a school like Roy, which enrolled roughly 1,500 students this school year. But since when have midsize schools, like Roy, ever considered themselves in the club?

It’s ironic that the win-loss column, something Hannah has distanced himself and his players from worrying about, is widely c0nsidered the ultimate indicator of change within his basketball program.

Yes, the Royals won a lot of games this season – but what changed inside the locker room? How far will it spread? And are these cases of David and Goliath that more enjoyable now that they’re evaporating?

Let’s hope not.

Two Silverwolves sign with Miles for baseball

Two of Fremont High baseball’s returning seniors have already inked a deal to continue their playing careers at the next level.

Infielder Kasen Pearson and outfielder Adam Mikesell each committed to Miles Community College in Miles City, Montana, over the weekend, according to Fremont baseball’s Instagram.

Pearson tallied 22 RBI and five runs on 31 hits last year and finished his junior campaign swinging .356 for the Silverwolves. Mikesell added 13 RBI in 86 plate appearances last season.

Fremont opens the season at Bountiful on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Miller sets Layton High’s single-season scoring record

Karter Miller now holds the Layton High boys basketball program’s single-season scoring record of 553 points, according to the team’s Instagram page.

Miller’s junior season with the Lancers, which finished at 16-9 overall in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs, included 22.1 points per night as the Lancers managed a share of the Region 1 title with Davis.

In 25 games, Miller broke out for 20-plus points 16 different times over the course of the season. He posted a double-double against Weber twice during region play.

While no Northern Utah boys program above 3A surfaced above the second round, Miller captured a piece of Layton history for himself this season and set the bar for his senior season that much higher.

Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net.