One of the Hamilton Heights national championship teams
Hamilton Heights Christian Academy has served as the catalyst for numerous international students to fulfill the American dream over the past several years. That legacy will end at the conclusion of the current school year as the school’s board voted this week to close after 22 years of existence.
Hamilton Heights has achieved national acclaim the past five years for attracting talented student-athletes from across the globe to its campus, creating opportunities for foreign students to gain a quality education in a faith-based environment while gaining exposure for their athletic pursuits at a highly competitive level.
The boys basketball program won its third National Association of Christian Athletics national title in four years in February.
Hamilton Heights’ girls unit won a national championship in 2018 that featured a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans in current Tennessee guard Jazmine Massengill and Elizabeth Balogun, who was named Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year her first season at Georgia Tech.
The school has become a melting pot of international students allowed to compete in independent leagues as the TSSAA’s visa requirements disallows eligibility to participate in athletics. Hamilton Heights has attracted students from Russia, Nigeria, Dominican Republic, Serbia and Canada among other countries over the years with the mission to allow college opportunities where none existed in their homelands.
Zach Ferrell, who has coached and mentored those in the boys program the past five years after playing collegiately at Chattanooga, is disappointed to see the chance to influence lives at Hamilton Heights come to a close.
“I’m sad for the other rising senior students like our girls’ basketball players who won’t get to experience their final year together, plus all the future students that we would have had an opportunity to impact,” Ferrell said. “I feel strongly about how we’ve been able to influence lives in a very unique way all over the world these last several years. I had hoped that would have continued for years, but now we won’t have that opportunity.”
The decision to shutter the doors was due to the school’s inability to continue to survive financially with an enrollment of around 60 students attending grades 9-12.
“In short, it’s just not financially possible for us to exist another year,” Ferrell said. “This was just something that had been challenging for years and the board finally decided we could no longer make it. The fact of running a school with its only funding coming from tuition dollars with a small enrollment and low tuition, the result is a razor-thin or non-existent margin that, after struggling year-in-and-year-out, you eventually hit a point it’s not possible to survive.”
The final decision was made by the board last Tuesday night. Even though Ferrell had heard whispers that the school might not survive, it was still a bitter pill to swallow.
“I had been hearing it was a possibility over the last two weeks, but it was still a shock,” Ferrell said. “Sometimes when you see the inevitable, it still doesn’t feel like reality until it actually happens.”
Hamilton Heights has certainly made a splash in high school basketball circles under Ferrell’s leadership. Two years ago the Hawks featured a pair of Canadian cousins, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who have advanced to lofty heights. Gilgeous-Alexander played one year at Kentucky before being picked 11th in the NBA draft last summer. He is averaging 10.7 points per game in his rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers. Meanwhile, Alexander-Walker is projected as a first-round pick in this year’s draft who led Virginia Tech to a Sweet Sixteen appearance averaging 16.2 points in his sophomore season with the Hokies.
Among this year’s graduating class for the Hawks, 6-foot-10 center Jason Jitobah committed to Florida and 6-7 Sammy Itodo inked scholarship papers with Gardner-Webb. Chattanooga native Jordan Rawls, rated as the nation’s No. 8 point guard among next year’s recruiting class, is deciding whether to attend a year of post-graduate school or declare with this year’s class after completing his high school eligibility. Rawls already holds offers from Ole Miss, Georgia Tech and Kansas State among others.
Five of the top players in Tennessee among the 2020 recruiting class attend Hamilton Heights including Bayron Matos, a 6-8 forward pledged to Mississippi State, and 6-7 wing player Samson Ruzhentsev, who is highly-sought by numerous SEC schools including Tennessee.
While Ferrell ponders his own future in coaching, he is also focused on helping those currently on the Hawks roster with their plans for transition.
“This decision will change a lot of their lives,” Ferrell said. “Knowing that their next year in high school will look completely different with having to move and play for different coaches, it’s hard to look them in the eye and deliver that news. Plus the fact the school will no longer exist that has been a major piece in their lives is very tough.
“I’ve already talked to other schools who are interested in some of our players, and it won’t be difficult to find places but I also want to make sure it’s the best fit. The ones I feel badly for are the kids that were making plans to come here next year.”
Ferrell is attending this weekend’s Final Four in Minneapolis, and he’s hoping he can make connections through his years of coaching to land his next gig.
“I’m going to make a strong attempt to find another job, most likely on the college level,” Ferrell said. “Most of my contacts and relationships are around the college game, and I’m hopeful something will materialize. But I’m open to wherever God would lead me.”
Ferrell recognizes that his years at Hamilton Heights are drawing to a close, but he has no regrets over the mission he accomplished in offering hope his players to gain an education and a vision for their future.
“I’ve got two kids and my wife doesn’t work, so I’m looking at no job in a few weeks and a family to provide for,” Ferrell said. “But I’m not worried. God has provided for me and my family my entire professional life, so I trust in God’s faithfulness where he has continually shown me He will provide. I trust that He will open the right doors and lead me where he wants me.”
Hamilton Heights was founded in 1997 by Duke Stone, recognizing the symbiotic relationship between academics and athletics. The school accepted its first international player in 2009, becoming the first of its kind in Tennessee, while maintaining a rigorous academic setting that is fully accredited.
But ultimately, the confluence of rising costs coupled with limited revenue sources forced this week’s difficult decision to close the school.
“I know we changed lives and we did things the right way,” Ferrell said. “As hard as it is to close the door on this chapter, we can be proud of what we accomplished in the lives of our students to provide them a chance to improve the future for them and their families.”
To contact Paul Payne, email paulpayne249@gmail.com or Twitter @Paul_A_Payne