June 28 - Bishop Ireton High School has hired West Potomac assistant Mike Olerta to replace Rex Thomas, school athletics director Bill Simmons announced today.
Olerta helped the Wolverines advance to the 6A North Region Tournament this past spring, where they took eventual region and state champion Chantilly to extra innings before falling, 2-1, in the first round. He has also coached with Stars Showcase Baseball and as an assistant with Springfield American Legion Post 176.
He replaces Thomas, who resigned after three years at the conclusion of the Cardinals’ season. Ireton went 4-19 overall and 0-16 in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) this spring, but are just four years removed from back-to-back Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) Division I state tournament appearances.
“I am excited to [be] joining Bishop Ireton,” Olerta said in the school’s release. “I have prepared myself since college for the opportunity to lead a high school baseball program. Bishop Ireton has a great baseball tradition, is respected in the area, and member of a great baseball conference.”
Olerta played collegiately at Division III Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 2012 after a four-year career in which he hit .353.
His first head coaching position will come in the perhaps the area’s toughest baseball conference in the WCAC.
“We did have a number of very strong candidates,” Simmons said. “We think Mike will fit in a number of important ways, on the field, with our families and players, with our alumni and with our vision of how to mentor young men and learn important life lessons.
“Mike radiates energy and enthusiasm, and a vision for our program. He knows the game, he is passionate as a teacher, and he is one of the most positive guys you will meet.”
Photo of Olerta courtesy of Bishop Ireton Athletics
