St. Ambrose Academy is thrilled to announce the hire of Chris Zwettler to be the Head Coach of our Boys Basketball Program effective with the 2023-24 season. Zwettler, whose immediate previous experience includes over 33 years in roles as a Teacher, Coach, and Athletic Director at Madison-based Edgewood High School, comes to St. Ambrose in the first official year of independent WIAA play having formerly played in a co-op arrangement.

“We could not be more excited to bring Chris on board,” said St. Ambrose Athletic Director and Principal Scott Schmiesing. “Chris’s background, energy, and attitude are perfect for us, our student-athletes, and our parents. He is exactly the right person for the job of forming young men and launching our program to the next level!”

Through the 2022-23 season, St. Ambrose Academy was previously under a co-op arrangement for boys basketball with nearby Abundant Life Christian School. As both schools have seen recent enrollment spikes no longer necessitating a co-op arrangement, each jointly applied to WIAA last year to amicably split moving forward. The 2023-24 season will be St. Ambrose’s first year as an independent varsity program.

“I’m very excited once again to get back on the court and teach young men the game of basketball and the game of life,” said Zwettler. “I’m grateful to Scott Schmiesing for this opportunity!”

A 1975 graduate of Madison West High School, Zwettler coached boys basketball in Stockton, IL prior to accepting a position as an assistant coach at UW-Platteville under Bo Ryan. In 1989, he was hired by Edgewood and became one of the winningest boys high school basketball coaches in Wisconsin history. After 40 combined years of coaching, Zwettler retired with a career 555-408 record between his stops at Edgewood and Stockton.  He led Edgewood’s Crusaders to the 2002 Division 2 State Championship and is a 2017 inductee to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Zwettler takes the reins of a program that lost zero seniors in the 2022-23 season to graduation. During the most recent season, St. Ambrose played a schedule preparing the program to go live for varsity play this year.

“I truly missed being around the players and coaches and the competition,” continued Zwettler. “Go Guardians!”