One of the state’s most successful young boys basketball coaches is stepping away from the bench — at least for now.
Twenty-four-year-old Logan McLaughlin, who led Fort Fairfield High School to the 2015 Eastern Maine Class D championship and appearances in the Class C regional final in each of the last two seasons, has decided to leave that post after four years.
“I’ve been leaning toward this for a little while. I’ve been getting busy with work and family reasons and thought now might be time to take a little break from it,” said McLaughlin, who helps manage his family’s 1,000-acre potato farm in Mars Hill.
McLaughlin’s Fort Fairfield teams compiled a 69-15 record during his tenure.
The Tigers captured their first regional championship since 1988 in McLaughlin’s first season, defeating top-seeded Washburn 55-41 to capture the Eastern D crown.
Fort Fairfield then became one of the smallest schools in Class C when the state expanded from four to five classes in high school basketball beginning with the 2015-2016 season.
But that didn’t stop the Tigers’ winning ways. They’ve finished each of the last three seasons ranked second in the final Class C North Heal Points and advanced to the regional championship game in both 2017 and 2018 before being eliminated by top-ranked and three-time defending state champion George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have some great kids there with a good work ethic that have made it happen,” said McLaughlin. “To jump up into Class C and do as well as we have and just run into a great team two years in a row, we’ve done pretty well to get to that point.”
McLaughlin sees a promising future for boys basketball in Fort Fairfield, although both high school and both middle school coaching positions currently are open.
“The kids I think all understand what it takes to win up there and the younger kids have really taken a liking to it so whoever does take it has a great opportunity,” he said.
“The younger kids really have been playing a lot of basketball and I think there’s a bright future for them. Whether they stay in Class C or Class D will make a difference probably, too, but there are some good athletes there and they’re playing a lot of basketball.”
A four-year point guard at Central Aroostook High School in Mars Hill, McLaughlin helped coach Tim Brewer’s Panthers compile a 78-7 record during a high school career highlighted by undefeated state championship seasons as a freshman in 2008 and as a senior in 2011.
McLaughlin went on to Husson University for a year before transferring to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where he also played baseball.
He ultimately earned an associate degree in business from Husson through its Division of Extended Learning in Presque Isle while increasingly becoming more involved in his family’s farming business.
“I think I’d like to eventually get back into coaching,” he said. “I just think now is a good time for me to take a step away. It could be for just a year if I miss it that much, but I think I’ll probably take a break for a little while and then it just depends on how I feel about it.”
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