Preble basketball players, parents speak out on Rick Rosinski's resignation
Preble basketball players, parents speak out on Rick Rosinski's resignation
Scott Venci, Green Bay Press-GazetteSun, May 10, 2026 at 10:04 AM UTC
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The Green Bay Preble boys basketball team still needs a new coach after the school informed players and parents May 7 that Rick Rosinski had resigned.
It has not been explained whether it was Rosinski’s decision to step down or if he was forced out after three seasons.
Preble athletic director Tim Flood, who also serves as the associate director of district co-curricular programming for Green Bay public schools, has not responded to a message asking the reasons Rosinski gave for resigning.
Rosinski has declined comment.
What is clear is that several players and parents in the Preble basketball program are not happy Rosinski is out.
They include Steve Komp.
His son, Elliot, is a 6-foot-2 sophomore who earned varsity minutes by the end of this season.
While some were blindsided after they received an email from Flood about Rosinski’s departure, it wasn’t a complete surprise to others.
“There were some whispers,” said Komp, whose father, Sam, is a Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer for his work at Peshtigo. “There have been some conversations about a disgruntled parent or two. Some of that noise has been going on since January. It was concerning, because it creates an atmosphere of negativity around the program. It creates an atmosphere of uncertainty around the program when you have a couple parents that, they forget why athletics exist. They forget about what people like Rick are trying to do, and how they are investing themselves into making these young people better men.
“It’s disappointing when you get a couple of parents that just lose focus on what we are actually trying to do with athletics. In this situation, it’s a bad look for Preble. We have a coach that has the program going in a good direction. We have got some talented kids coming, there is excitement around the program. Except for this little gray cloud of these few parents that just don’t understand what Rick is trying to do and have lost focus on what athletics are really about.”
Green Bay Preble junior Will Dornbush (1) was one of the Hornets' top scorers this season.Green Bay Preble has shown improvement under Rick Rosinski
Komp has had conversations with other parents, and they have expressed the same disappointment.
They felt Rosinski was building a good culture within a program that has struggled to have much success the past few decades.
Preble has had only four winning campaigns in the 19 seasons since the Fox River Classic Conference was formed in 2007-08.
The last one came in 2018-19, when the Hornets went 15-8 and averaged more than 66 points per game behind the trio of Joshua Nicklaus, Bryan Boockmeier and future Major League Baseball draft pick Max Wagner.
Preble has won 10 or more games in a season just three times in the last 12 seasons, and two have come in the last two years under Rosinski.
Along with the two junior varsity teams going a combined 27-17 this season, there have been other positive signs.
Preble averaged 58.4 points in Rosinski’s first season, 62.2 in his second and 59.6 in his third.
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Other than the 2018-19 squad, those scoring averages are the highest of any Preble teams in at least the last 24 seasons.
The Hornets still have several steps to take to become one of the top squads in the 10-team FRCC, but many believed they were on the right path under their veteran coach, who spent 20 seasons at Green Bay East before being hired at Preble.
At least until May 7.
“The email is how I found out [Rosinski was out at Preble],” said junior guard Will Dornbush, who averaged 8 points and 3.2 rebounds this season. “My reaction was pretty shocked. It was kind of out of nowhere. I felt like it was all so sudden, and that’s how I feel like, after talking to people, a lot of people felt.
“I think everyone is open-minded, but talking to the guys, a lot of people were upset that Rick left. He’s just a great guy, and people really loved working with him.”
Dornbush is not giving up hope Rosinski could return, especially because of how much support his coach is receiving.
“I loved playing for him,” Dornbush said. “He was a super energetic, positive and fun guy to be around. Whether it was on or off the court. Super fun to work with. Got you pumped up.
“Every year, I’ve seen improvement with the team. Just getting better and better, and I think next year with him, we can be really good.”
Komp spoke to Rosinski a couple of weeks ago. He said Rosinski was excited with the players he had and what he hoped to accomplish this summer.
It did not sound like a man who was thinking about stepping down.
“We have to push back on this,” Komp said. “They said he resigned. I’m assuming he made an emotional decision based on things that weren’t being presented to him in an ideal way. But we want to show Coach that we support him. The kids want to show Coach they support him.
“Hopefully, the board or the district, whoever needs to lean in, can examine this thing and realize, ‘You know, we probably didn’t do the right thing here.’ That’s all we can hope for.”
Komp said there are ideas being presented by parents to show support for Rosinski, although he said it was too early to detail any of them.
Flood wrote in his email that the school will start the process of hiring a new coach soon.
How soon is important, considering a change this late in the offseason is not ideal for the team entering the fall.
“I think that’s something the booster club and the administration are talking about,” Komp said. “How can we best support the kids in the summertime? Rick getting rehired or staying resigned, that is going to work itself out. But we need to figure out with Mr. Flood, how can we ensure that the kids have some positive experiences in the offseason, regardless of who the coach is? The coach isn’t going to get hired next week. It might not be next month.
“June is a very active month for leagues within the high school area. We have got to figure out how the kids can still get on the court, the kids can still get some good direction and instruction, so they are bettering themselves. We can’t afford to lose an entire summer.”'
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay Preble basketball players, parents speak on Rick Rosinski
Source: “AOL Sports”
