Pending approval by the Chillicothe City School Board Wednesday afternoon, Chillicothe Boys Basketball has a new leader.

Andrew Meister comes to the Cavaliers after a one-year stint at Canton South High School near his ol' stompin' grounds.

The 38 year old Meister attended Claymont High School in Uhrichsville, Ohio and after five seasons as head coach at Newark Catholic, found an opportunity to head back home.

Now his home will be along the sideline at Ellis B. Hatton Memorial Gymnasium.

In a release Tuesday evening, Chillicothe Athletic Director Garin Veris stated... "Chillicothe High School CHS Athletics is extremely excited to announce the recommendation of Andrew Meister as the new Head Coach of the Chillicothe Cavaliers Boys Basketball team.  Coach Meister will lead the Cavalier program into a new era of tradition and excellence.  Coach Meister has coached at both the collegiate and high school levels.  He has coached at Southern Polytechnic, LaGrange College, Urbana University, Southern Polytechnic, Newark Catholic High School and Canton South High School.  Meister led Newark Catholic to a state runner finish during the 2009-10 season (25-2) and also finished as the AP Poll champion.  In his last three seasons at Newark Catholic, he led the team to 63 wins and a 22-game home winning streak.   Coach Meister has been selected as Associated Press D-IV Coach of the Year, Central District D-IV Coach of the Year and Mid-State League (Ohio Division) Coach of the Year among other awards.   The selection committee reviewed over twenty applications for this position and we all feel we have a coach who understands the meaning of student-athlete and is committed to helping our student-athletes reach their potential both in the classroom, on the court and in the Chillicothe community.  We are proud to welcome Coach Andrew Meister into the Cavalier Family and we feel he will bring a positive and effective energy to the basketball program.  Coach Meister will be recommended to the Chillicothe Board of Education tomorrow, Wednesday, May 9 at Hatton Memorial Gymnasium at 4:30 p.m."

The Canton Repository described Meister's style as "a defensive-minded coach who favors man-to-man principles and extending pressure".

Sound familiar? They're characteristics Cavalier fans have seen from Coach Gary Kellough's program the past seven seasons.

The release also quotes Meister as saying "I feel very fortunate to have been selected as the head boys basketball coach at Chillicothe High School and look forward to becoming more than a coach in this basketball community in the years to come. This is a community that is passionate about their basketball and finds value in hard work, and I wouldn't want to coach in any other situation.  I think those connected with CHS will quickly identify with my own passion and core values that will go into leading our basketball program.  Let me assure you, we are going to set the bar very high on and off the floor for the young men in our program."