Yousef Mabrouk is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Seton Catholic Prep for AZPreps365.com.

Ernie Kornya, an assistant coach for the boys basketball team at Seton Catholic Preparatory, came to Chandler from Hawaii and has made an immediate impact on his community and team.

Coach Kornya and head coach Carter Aby played basketball together at Benedictine University. Together, they have been able to turn the program around at Seton.

“Coach Kornya has been my assistant coach and left-hand man for four seasons now. He is a phenomenal coach and an even better person. Coach Ernie is the most dedicated assistant I’ve ever seen,” Aby said. “We have the youngest staff in the state of Arizona. With an average age of 23.5 we are underestimated but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Before we arrived, in two seasons Seton Catholic combined for a record of four wins and 35 losses. In our two years, we have an overall record of 34-23 with two holiday tournament wins. extremely blessed to have Coach Tip, Coach Dayson, Coach Liesse, and Coach Ernie on this journey. They are terrific coaches and you’ll be hearing more about them as their Careers continue.”

Not only has coach Kornya helped bring back a winning culture to Seton, his work ethic and character are unmatched.

“Coach Kornya is one of the best coaches you’ll ever meet,” Liesse said. “His passion and dedication to the players he coaches is second to none. He embraces everyone in the program like family from head coach down to the last player on the bench. His players respect him and play harder for him because they know how much he cares. He is willing to sacrifice extra hours in the gym, he’s a great communicator with kids and parents and he is a fantastic teacher of the game. It’s an honor to coach alongside him and a joy to see him continue to live out his passion.”

One of the main struggles Seton faces is getting its players recognized due to them being in 4A and not getting the same attention that many 6A schools get.

“I would like to advocate for a lot of college coaches to come and look at 4A games,” Kornya said. “I think a lot of kids get overlooked especially in our region. I want college coaches to expand and not just look at 6A talent.”

“Seton isn’t a hotspot for college coaches to stop by. However, our student’s academic excellence provides the qualifications to attend any University of their choosing. If the player performs and helps the team succeed, coaches will come,” Aby said. "With me being an Arizona native, I have many coaches I can reach out to regarding recruitment. I wouldn’t say Seton struggles with finding scouts, but our male student body is only 200 students, so our talent pool is much smaller.”

Even with them having a small student body they are managing to slowly turn the program.

“I like watching him coach because he brings this dynamic energy to the coaching staff,” He’s very committed to the game and connected to the Seton community,” Hutchison said. “He’s a great leader and role model for the kids he coaches.”