John Walsh steps down as Malden Catholic’s boys basketball coach

John Walsh spent five seasons as the head coach at Malden Catholic. (Carlos Flores)

In a stunning move on the eve of a new season, John Walsh is stepping down as Malden Catholic’s boys basketball head coach, the school announced on Wednesday.

The news came two days before the Lancers’ season opener on Friday against Burncoat. Mark Garrity, who has been Walsh’s assistant for 15 years, will step in as the new head coach on an interim basis.

Walsh, a 1998 graduate of Malden Catholic, led his alma mater to three consecutive Division 2 state championships from 2022-24, and made another state final last March. The Lancers went 91-19 in five seasons under Walsh.

“We are sincerely grateful for his leadership and dedication over the past five seasons,” the school wrote in a statement.

“We are confident coach Garrity will continue to build upon the strong foundation established under coach Walsh’s direction and we offer him our full support as he steps into this new role.”

Walsh holds a career record of 266-58 over 14 seasons as a head coach, including three at Central Catholic. He also spent six years at Danvers, where he won three state titles.

It’s a new era at Malden Catholic in 2025-26 after its dynastic run. The Lancers are moving up to Division 1 this season and experienced great turnover from last year’s roster. Former star Matt Gaffney graduated and is now at Navy, and brothers Abe and Mamadou Camara transferred to Vermont Academy. Now, they go into the new season with a new head coach.