Lyme-Old Lyme Basketball Coach Brady Sheffield Leaving for Mitchell College

LYME/OLD LYME, CT – Lyme-Old Lyme High School wunderkind Brady Sheffield is taking his dream of being a college basketball coach to Mitchell College. 

In an interview at the high school on Friday, Sheffield, 24, said he’ll begin work next week as assistant coach on Mitchell’s three-person basketball staff. His resignation from the high school basketball program is effective Aug. 8, though he will continue as an instructional assistant at the middle school. 

“Ultimately, for me, what I want to do full-time in my life is be a coach,” he said. “And this is just kind of the next step in that progression to get into the college game.”

Sheffield was hired as boys varsity basketball coach in 2023 at age 21. A Lyme-Old Lyme alumnus, Sheffield played under longtime Coach Kirk Kaczor during the team’s run to the Division V state championship game in 2019. The next year’s cancellation of the state tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic cut short his senior season. 

He was the youngest varsity basketball coach in the state when he led the Wildcats to their first championship in 2024. The team won the Shoreline Conference title in each of the next two seasons, reaching the state final in 2025 before falling to undefeated Shepaug Valley and making it to the second round this spring. 

Sheffield said the news of his new position came as the team – including senior Ethan Trepanier, juniors Ryan Hill, Will McKeever and Charlie Zapatka, and sophomores Jackson Fiske and Sam Zelek – had been working hard during the offseason and bonding in the weight room. 

“I’m confident that no matter who they have as their coach, they’re gonna do the right thing, and they’re gonna be great,” he said. “And obviously, I’ll be watching and trying to make sure that happens best I can.”

McKeever said Friday that “the sky’s the limit” for Sheffield, whose resume boasts the same entry point as the legendary Jim Calhoun. The three-time NCAA national champion coach began his career in Old Lyme during the 1968-69 season. 

“It’s a great place to start,” McKeever said. 

The junior guard credited Sheffield with cultivating a supportive atmosphere that will last far beyond their last game. 

“He’s taught us that, obviously, winning is the best. And losing isn’t very fun, but no matter what happens, he’s bonded us,” he said. 

It’s a brotherhood that extends beyond the court, according to McKeever. 

“He just helps us navigate life in many different aspects,” he said. 

McKeever, who earned Honorable Mention All-Shoreline honors this spring, played with Shoreline Conference Player of the Year Eddie Fiske Jr., then a junior, and first-team All-Shoreline selection Colman Curtiss-Reardon, who graduated in June. Fiske will be reclassing and spending another year as a junior at The Frederick Gunn School in Washington, Connecticut. 

Hildie Heck, district athletic director and Title IX coordinator for Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools, said Friday that the district has one candidate for the coaching job so far and is waiting for more applicants. 

She recalled the “phenomenal” job interview that landed Sheffield the job back in 2023. 

“He proved to be the best candidate and clearly, after we hired him and what he’s done for our program, it was the right hire,” she said. 

Like McKeever, she described Sheffield as a caring mentor. She credited him with honing the players’ athletic skills while helping them develop into polite young men. 

She said she’s known from the beginning that Sheffield’s aspirations wouldn’t end with high school sports. 

“I think that he’s just going to keep building his skills and his resume, (and) that’s going to eventually get him to that high level college coach position that he wants,” she said. 

For Sheffield, the thing he’ll take with him from his time as basketball coach at Lyme-Old Lyme isn’t the wins. It’s the culture he built there, and the student-athletes who made it possible. 

“It’s mainly just the kids,” he said. “The way that they’ve bought in and how they’ve become better people in the past three years has been the most rewarding thing for me.” 

Editor’s Note: Lyme-Old Lyme High School student contributor Charlotte Thuma reported this article.