Coach Matt Creamer hits 500 game win mark

Canton Central Catholic boys head basketball coach is flanked by his team as he celebrates win number 500 in his career. (Photo: Provided)

CANTON, Ohio - Victories in high school basketball are challenging to achieve, yet Matt Creamer has reached a milestone that only a select few have accomplished in Ohio. 

"500 career wins is a great 'Team' accomplishment over many years of coaching with great players, parents, assistant coaches, administration, and a supportive family. I am truly blessed and humbled," said Creamer via his Twitter account. 

Creamer, more recently, has been the boys' head coach at Canton Central Catholic, where he won his 500th game, a role he assumed in April 2013, following stops at multiple schools in Northeast Ohio over the course of 29 years.

The victory of 500 came against Youngstown Boardman on December 23, with a score of 57-44.

His journey as a varsity head coach began in 1983 at Lafayette Allen East, where he remained until 1985. 

After that, he moved to Streetsboro, where he coached from 1985 to 1990. Then, he went Northwest to Lima Senior, where he dedicated five seasons from 1992 to 1996. 

"Your sons are 'Warrior Poets!"

After departing from Lima Senior, he arrived at Massillon, where he spent the longest time coaching. In 1996, he amassed a record of 191 wins and continued there until 2011, guiding the team to a district title in the 2002-2003 season, their first since 1972. 

During the 2005-2006 season, he had a record of 18 wins and 2 losses, ending with a total of 20 wins and 3 losses. This was the year he faced Canton McKinley, the team that would go on to become the state champion, and he lost to them twice. 

After the Massillon school board elected not to renew his contract after the 2011 season, he landed as an assistant on Paul Wackerly's staff at Massillon Perry. 

As per the OHSAA records so far, he has matched Joe Schoenfeld from Cincinnati Elder, where he was the coach from 1992 to 2024. With 16 regular-season games remaining and a tournament game (since every basketball team gets into the OHSAA playoffs), he has the chance to surpass names on the list like Vern Hoffman, from Mansfield Senior, Richard Meyer from Delaware Buckeye Valley, and Ken Grisdale from Poland Seminary. 

Creamer, who is also a twin, coached at the pro level during his career with the now defunt Florida Jades (head coach), and the Youngstown Pride of the World Basketball League, as an assistant. 

He graduated in 1980 from Bluffton University, where he also played and earned a degree in English education. Being inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2016.

For now, you can see him on the sidelines at Canton Central Catholic, continuing to make an impact in high school basketball and in the lives of the young men he leads. His team sits at 3-3 in the young season.