Calvert Hall selects David Gately as its new varsity basketball coach

The third time is the charm for David Gately. Now, the new Calvert Hall basketball head coach has the only job he has ever wanted.

Gately, who had Hall of Fame playing careers at both Mount St. Joseph High School and Loyola University in the eighties, was named to lead the Cardinals on Monday.

A long-time assistant coach at Calvert Hall before a stint as the head coach at McDonogh School and as an assistant at Gilman School, Gately succeeds Gary Neal, who stepped down earlier this spring. Reportedly, he was selected from a group of finalists that included former Calvert Hall and University of Maryland legend Juan Dixon, former Mount Carmel and Goucher College head coach Tom Rose and St. Maria Goretti head coach Sidney McCray, among others.

Gately said it was his dream job.

“I am so grateful to Dan Mulford, Br. John Kane and the entire search committee for this opportunity to guide the Calvert Hall basketball program into the next era,” said Gately. “Calvert Hall has a storied and rich tradition of basketball and I am very excited about this opportunity. I did not attend Calvert Hall but I do feel a part of the Calvert Hall family. My son attended Calvert Hall and I was fortunate to coach basketball for nine seasons previously during Coach Bauersfeld’s highly successful tenure.”

Gately was a finalist for the Calvert Hall job in 2019 when the school selected Jason Hasson to replace John Bauersfeld, who Gately served as an assistant for nine years, during two different stints. During this time, the Cardinals won two Baltimore Catholic League Tournament titles. Hasson won just six BCL contests in his three seasons. Gately was considered the leading candidate to replace Hasson, but the school eventually elected to go with Neal, a Calvert hall grad who played six-plus years in the NBA. Neal’s teams struggled in the BCL even more than Hasson’s, winning just five league contests in his three years..

Gately’s roots in the MIAA and Baltimore Catholic League date back to his days as a star at St. Joe. As a junior he led the Gaels to the BCL title game, falling to Calvert Hall in an 85-81 classic. As a senior, he averaged 23 points and nine rebounds, which included a 40-point effort in a win over the Cardinals.

He then spent four years at Loyola College (now University) where he finished his college career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,706 career points. He also briefly played professionally in Ireland. Gately was eventually inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fames at both Mount St. Joseph and Loyola, as well as, in 2023, the Baltimore Catholic League.

“We are excited to welcome Coach Gately back to Calvert Hall,” said Cardinals’ athletic director Dan Mulford. “His experience winning games in the extremely competitive MIAA "A" Conference and the Baltimore Catholic League is a game changer for us. He has proven to be a great coach who knows how to develop young men. I look forward to watching our basketball program flourish under Coach Gately's leadership.”

Fiercely competitive, Gately took over a floundering McDonogh boys’ varsity basketball program prior to the 2014-2015 season and led the Eagles to two consecutive appearances in the MIAA A Conference playoffs. Before Gately’s arrival, the Eagles had won just four league games over the previous two seasons, but won 33 in his two years at the helm. It was the first time in 10 years that the school had reached the post-season in back-to-back seasons.

Following the 2015-16 season, the school informed Gately it was going in a different direction.

“I did not know if I would ever get another chance,” said Gately, who is also a Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “I cannot wait to meet the team and get started.”