Carroll legend Romanczuk back on sidelines
MALVERN >> Paul Romanczuk’s basketball journey took another turn toward home Monday.
Romanczuk, the Archbishop Carroll High graduate who was the Patriots’ head coach for 15 seasons, has been named head coach at Malvern Prep. Before transferring to Carroll as a rising high school junior in 1993, Romanczuk played basketball for Malvern Prep as a freshman and sophomore.
“Some of my best friends to this day are guys that I met playing basketball as a freshman for Malvern Prep,” Romanczuk said Monday. “The brotherhood at Malvern Prep, the community, and the life-long friendships that I formed back then make Malvern a special place for me. It’s a place where you’re surrounded by young athletes who not only want to be great athletes but have an academic determination; they want to be the best in the classroom as well. That excites me, and it will be a new challenge for me coaching in the Inter-Ac.”
Shortly after a career at Penn in which he scored 1,179 points, Romanczuk served two years as an assistant coach under Carroll head coach J.R. Roe before taking over the program in 2002.
He would serve 15 years as a head coach in two tenures (2002-04; 2005-18), compiling 283 victories. Along the way, he led the Patriots to the PIAA Class AAA state title in 2009 amid 10 consecutive seasons of 20 or more wins and 10 straight trips to the state playoffs. His Patriots teams finished second at states in 2013 and 2015.
A three-time Catholic League coach of the year, who saw players move on to Division I programs and the NBA, Romanczuk left Carroll three years ago.
“Stepping away from Carroll was one of the harder decisions I had to make in life,” Romanczuk said. “It was a family decision, I wanted to make sure I was around for my kids’ sports activities. I thought that I’d be back coaching eventually, but it happened a little sooner than I thought. The sidelines were calling me back, and it was Malvern Prep. It was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.
“It’s exciting to be back on the Malvern campus, and it looks so much different than it did when I went there, with the new buildings,” he added. “It’s such a lively campus with a beautiful football field and baseball field. The basketball court, the O’Neill Center, wasn’t around when I was on campus; we played in Dougherty Hall.”
Jim Stewart Jr., Malvern’s athletics director, said Romanczuk, “has walked the walk with a proven track record of leadership and success. We are excited to bring Coach Romanczuk on board.”
Romanczuk, a 1995 Carroll grad, had his Patriots jersey number retired by the school in 2020. He was a four-year starter under Fran Dunphy at Penn, a captain as a senior, earning second-team all-Ivy League honors in 1998 and all-Big Five honors in 1999.
A Certified Public Accountant in West Chester, Romanczuk resides there with his wife, Kelly, and three children aged 9-14 who attend Episcopal Academy.
“I want to thank Father (Donald) Reilly, Mr. Stewart, the hiring committee, and the Malvern Prep administration for giving me an opportunity to get back to the sidelines,” Romanczuk said. “The Malvern Prep campus and its community are second to none. I am excited to build upon the great athletic tradition and success that precedes me.”