Basha names interim baseball coach with Jim Schilling still out

Basha High School and the Chandler Unified School District are remaining mum on the circumstances surrounding head baseball coach Jim Schilling, who hasn't led the team since beating rival Hamilton in early April.

When asked for an update on the coaching situation, Stephanie Ingersoll, spokeswoman for the CUSD, shared with The Arizona Republic what has been communicated to the baseball parents:

"Coach Eric Albright is currently our interim coach. Coach Albright brings many years of experience and will continue to serve as our coach until further notice."

Basha (18-8) lost its last two regular-season games, both to Gilbert Perry, but has clinched a top-eight spot in the 16-team double-elimination tournament that starts Saturday. There are play-in games Wednesday. After those games are played, the Arizona Interscholastic Association will seed the state bracket.

Hamilton figures to be the top seed. For much of the second half of the season, Basha was second to Hamilton in the AIA rankings.

A day after Basha beat Hamilton 7-3 on April 4, the district began investigating Schilling. Neither Basha nor the district has commented on what led to the investigation since the investigation began. Schilling did not return messages from The Republic.

This is a senior-laden team with 15 seniors hoping to finish the way the football team ended the season, with its first state title.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Basha names Eric Albright interim baseball coach, Jim Schilling still out