It took a little longer than expected, but Allentown Central Catholic announced Monday morning that Austin Beidelman is the school’s new boys basketball coach.

Beidelman is a former Parkland High and Kutztown University standout who has been on the coaching staff at Parkland for many years, first working with Andy Stephens and more recently with Eddie Ohlson. He has been Parkland’s head JV coach, freshman coach and varsity assistant.

At Parkland, the 2013 graduate was a two-time first team selection to the all-league team and a Morning Call all-area selection. He averaged 16.7 points per game in his senior year. He was also a member of the Via All-Star team and regarded as one of the best players in the Lehigh Valley in scoring 968 career points and leading the Trojans to a District 11 4A title in 2013.

At Kutztown, he was a four-year starter and a two-time captain. He was also a two-time Lehigh Valley Scholar-Athlete and helped to lead the Golden Bears to two NCAA Division II tournament appearances. He scored more than 900 points in his college career and ranks fifth all-time in school history in assists.

In a release issued by the school, Beidelman was praised for having “an impressive blend of coaching success, teaching experience, player development expertise and a passion for mentoring young people.”

Beidelman replaces Dennis Csensits, who resigned in June after 14 seasons in charge of the ACCHS program.

Csensits went 284-102 and in addition to a state championship in 2021, his teams won nine District 11 titles, including the last four in a row, and also a pair of league championships. The Vikings were 15-12, 9-7 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference last season

Csensits, who had considerable college coaching experience before becoming the head coach at ACCHS, has returned to the collegiate ranks as an assistant at the University of New Hampshire.

Beidelman has big shoes to fill but Ohlson believes he is up to the challenge.

“Austin is going to be a great coach,” Ohlson said. “I think he’s ready for it. I coached Austin and I have worked with him for several years. He was a varsity assistant for me for the last three years and was the JV coach with Andy. He was a point guard, so he knows the game so well and sees it differently than a lot of people. He is a student of the game and loves to watch film. He brings a lot of energy, and I think he’s going to do great.”

School principal Diane Young welcomed the new coach.

“Austin’s passion for mentoring young people, his extensive coaching experience, and his commitment to building a positive program culture make him an outstanding choice to lead Viking basketball,” she said. “We are excited to welcome him to our school community and look forward to the impact he will have on our student-athletes.”

Beidelman, who has been a head coach at the AAIU level with the Lehigh Valley Basketball School, has been waiting for an opportunity to lead a high school program. ACCHS said he helped develop numerous student-athletes at Parkland, including Division I players such as Sam Iorio and Nick Coval.

In addition to his impressive coaching resume, Beidelman has been a fourth grade teacher at Cetronia Elementary School in Parkland School District since 2017. He recently earned a master’s degree in effective teaching in education from Wilkes University and holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Kutztown.

He said in the release, “I am very excited to join Allentown Central Catholic. I am excited to lead student-athletes at ACCHS. I cannot wait to work with the players and build up the program at a school like this. I am honored to be the next boys basketball coach.”

Beidelman was expected to be announced as the school’s coach last week but wasn’t offered the position until Saturday and readily accepted. He didn’t coach but was on the sidelines for two of the team’s games at the A-Town Throwdown.

He is married to ACCHS athletic director Colleen Nosovitch, but she was not involved in the hiring process.