Cedar Rapids Prairie High School Activities Director Rocky Bennett didn't have to look far to find a qualified candidate to lead the boys basketball program.

Bennett announced Friday that Jeremy Rickertsen has been promoted and will become the new coach, pending board approval. He succeeds James Moses, who resigned after the season.

"We are very excited to have Jeremy take over our boys basketball program," said Bennett. "I have followed Jeremy's coaching career, and he always demonstrated the desire to improve in everything he did.

"He has tremendous passion and knowledge of the game and builds great rapport with his players. He has great leadership skills and an ability to relate to the community to benefit all those that come in contact with the program."

Rickertsen has a significant coaching history at the high school level as well as a basketball pedigree that includes Iowa roots as a player at Northeast Goose Lake High School and Coe College.

He has been with the College Community School District and the Prairie boys basketball program for four years. He teaches special education at Prairie Point Middle School and 9th Grade Academy. In the boys basketball program, he has been the sophomore head coach and varsity assistant.

Before coming to Prairie he was the girls basketball coach at Alburnett from 2006 to 2010 as well as the assistant girls basketball coach at Cedar Rapids Jefferson from 1999 to 2006. He coached at Dubuque Senior from 1997 to 1999.

"I am excited and appreciative of the opportunity to lead the Cedar Rapids Prairie boys basketball program," said Rickertsen. "College Community is a great district with outstanding community support. With a lot of hard work I hope to compete for championships at both the conference and state levels in the near future."

Rickertsen and his wife, Sharon, have three children who attend Prairie. Daughter Kali is an eighth grader and sons Collin and Jace are in fifth and third grade, respectively.