Fishers basketball has a new coach and it is a familiar face with state title experience

Miles Wayer feels like he is coming home.

Wayer, 28, graduated from Mt. Vernon, not Fishers. But Wayer spent three years as an assistant boys’ basketball coach for the Tigers, an experience that helped lead him to become the next coach for the program.

New Greenfield-Central coach Miles Wayer was an assistant at Fishers.

Wayer was officially introduced as Fishers’ new coach at Wednesday night’s school board meeting. Wayer was an assistant for Garrett Winegar at Fishers for three years before taking the head coaching position at Greenfield-Central last year and leading the inexperienced Cougars to a 12-12 record.

While there are “mixed emotions” about leaving Greenfield-Central after one season, the opportunity to coach at Fishers again was worth exploring after former coach Garrett Winegar departed Fishers to take a position at Iowa United Prep.

“Fishers is home for me and my family,” Wayer said. “We built those relationships with the Greenfield kids. A lot of the Fishers’ kids I’ve known since they were coming to our youth camps. Cooper (Zachary) is a kid I’ve bene around since he was in the fifth or sixth grade. But what motivated me was the opportunity to go back after being under Garrett and knowing I’d try to come in and do my best to keep that culture going.”

Fishers is 83-3 the past three seasons, including a Class 4A state championship with Wayer on staff in 2023-24. The following season, the Tigers were 30-0 before losing by one point to Jeffersonville in the state championship game.

Wayer said he is “honored” to be put in charge of a program that has been at the top of 4A for much of the past three years.

“Coach Winegar did a really good job of preparing me for this job and really preparing me for the Greenfield job last year,” Wayer said. “It’s a blessing to me at this age to have the opportunity to coach at a program like Fishers.”

The Tigers will lose some key pieces to graduation going into next year, including the frontcourt of Indiana All-Star Kai McGrew (15.4 ppg, 6.8 rebounds) and Ethan Hillsman (11.2 ppg, 3.8 rebounds). But if the returning group, led by juniors Jason Gardner Jr. (20.3 ppg, 5.4 rebounds in seven games), Zachary (15.4 ppg, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists) and Levi Walker (9.4 ppg, 3.4 rebounds), all come back, the Tigers should again be among the best teams in the state.