Saying it was time, Dennis Csensits has resigned as the boys basketball coach at Allentown Central Catholic.
He told the team of his decision earlier in the week after coaching them through the first half of the summer league season.
No one was more successful on an area boys basketball sideline over the past 14 seasons than Csensits, who led the Vikings to the 2021 Class 4A state championship which is the only state gold a Lehigh Valley team has had in the sport over the last 40 years.
At the end of last season, the 58-year-old Csensits talked about coaching at ACCHS for two more seasons but had a change of heart.
“I was thinking I’d hang on for a couple more years, but a couple things came up and there are a couple of options out there that I am weighing right now,” he said. “I have decided that I am going to take a little time off this summer and make a decision.”
He said the options are at the high school and college level and involve sports and basketball.
“I’m at a point in my life with my family that I’ve got some flexibility,” Csensits said. “My three sons are now young adults. All three of them played for me – Dennis who is 26, Andrew is 24 and Will is 20. They’re all doing well and my wife and I are so proud of them. But we’re at a point where we’re just about empty nesters.”
Allentown Central Catholic coach Dennis Csensits, watches his team during a District 11 Class 4A boys basketball finals game against Northwestern Lehigh on Feb 27, 2026 in Allentown. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
Csensits said, “It’s never a good time to leave a place like Central Catholic. But for me, I felt it was time.”
He posted a record of 284-102 and in addition to the state championship, his teams won nine District 11 titles, including the last four in a row, and also a pair of league championships.
He was named the 2020-21 PIAA 4A Coach of the Year and the 2022-23 PA Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year. He was also The Morning Call’s coach of the year in 2021.
His best team was arguably the 2013-14 squad which set a Lehigh Valley record by winning its first 29 games before losing to eventual state champion Neumann-Goretti in the PIAA 4A quarterfinals.
Csensits is an Allen High and DeSales University graduate. He came to Allentown Central Catholic after an extensive coaching career at the collegiate level.
Prior to joining the staff as Rich Fatzinger’s assistant in 2011, Csensits was the head coach at Dickinson College from 2002-2009. In addition, he served as a Division I assistant from 1994-2002 at the U.S. Naval Academy, The Citadel and Colgate.
“When I came over to Central to help Rich, I never anticipated that it would be this type of experience, this type of run,” he said. “I am extremely grateful that I had this opportunity. Central was the perfect fit for me with it being a mission-based school where you are offering kids a Christ-centered education and a place where the administration truly valued education through athletics.”
He said he worked for three “really good principals” in the late Dennis Nemes, Blair Tiger and Randy Rice.
“Those three guys, without compromising academics, really understood the value of a strong athletic program,” Csensits said. “All three were extremely supportive of what we were doing in our program and with the young men. That’s something I greatly appreciated.”
He said he was also blessed with many great players and assistant coaches.
Allentown Central Catholic coach Dennis Csensits, watches his team during a District 11 Class 4A boys basketball finals game against Northwestern Lehigh on Feb 27, 2026 in Allentown. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
“I’m grateful to all of the players and the coaches I have had with me,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of continuity with our coaching staff and on the current staff we have several guys who could easily be head coaches in this league, people like Dave Gehris and Kevin Keeler. We’ve also got three young guys who I coached who are coming through the ranks – Bryce Maley, Nick Filchner and Cael Hines. All three of those guys are good coaches.”
In a statement posted on social media, the school said, “Allentown Central Catholic would like to express our deepest gratitude to Coach Csensits for all he has given to our Viking basketball program after 14 incredible seasons! His leadership went far beyond the scoreboard. He taught discipline, resilience, teamwork, and what it truly means to give our best. Through every practice, every game, every challenge, Coach Csensits believed in the Viking program and inspired out student-athletes to believe in themselves. Fourteen seasons of dedication, passion and success is an extraordinary legacy!”
Csensits, who had been the school’s athletic director and more recently director of development and athletic advancement, said he will miss ACCHS.
“The other day after I met with the team, I was walking out of Rockne Hall and I looked at the banners and it reinforced what a special place it is,” he said. “I will always have special memories in my heart.”
None better than the memorable run in the 2021 state playoffs when ACCHS, in a span of 10 days, beat Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Carroll, Middletown and Hickory for the state gold. The four wins came by a total of 11 points, including a 41-40 thriller with Hickory at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Allentown Central Catholic West’s coach Dennis Csensits watches his team against Pocono Mountain West during an EPC’s Northampton County Division basketball game Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, at Allentown Central’s Rockne Hall in Allentown. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
“We’ve had some really good teams,” Csensits said. “But obviously the 2021 team was special. Those few weeks when we made the run to Hershey and won the state championship with my son Andrew being a part of that team … that truly had to be the highlight of my time at Central Catholic and that’s not to sell any of the other teams short.
“At the end of the day, the wins are great, the championships are great, but you do it because of the great relationships you form with the kids. I’ve been at Central Catholic long enough that I’ve seen so many kids grow up and become great successes in life. They’re getting married and starting their own family. Bryce Maley’s wife is expecting this weekend, so I have been back and forth with him. That’s so neat to see. We all talk about life lessons through athletics and really that’s what this is about for these kids.”
He is not sure of the process that will follow but said Gehris will likely coach the team in the summer league and upcoming summer tournaments.
“My decision will start the transition and get the process started I am sure and I know the school will have a timeline in place to put the kids in the best position going forward,” he said.
Csensits said he was celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary with his wife, the former Lori Stranzl, this weekend. Stranzl was a three-sport athlete at Allen and the two have been together since high school.
“Lori has been a phenomenal wife and she has been there raising the kids through all of the Division I stops I made and Division III as well,” he said. “She has been like a warrior. She has been a special part of all the success I’ve had as a coach. I can’t thank her enough.”