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Poland Seminary High School names Bella Gajdos Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach

The image shows a smiling woman with long brown hair, wearing a black shirt, against a background featuring a "Welcome" sign and text identifying her as the head coach of the varsity girls soccer team at Poland Seminar High School.
  • Athletics
  • District

POLAND, Ohio – The Poland Seminary High School Athletic Department is proud to
announce Bella Gajdos as the next Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach,
approved by the Poland Board of Education at its meeting on Wednesday, May 20.

A 2018 graduate of Poland Seminary High School and the daughter of Dennis and Melissa
Gajdos of Poland, Gajdos returns to lead one of the premier programs in the area after building
an outstanding legacy as both a student-athlete and coach within the program. She succeeds
Nick Blanch, who served as head coach for the past 17 seasons and coached Gajdos throughout
her high school career.

Gajdos was a four-year varsity starter for the Bulldogs and helped lead the program to
conference championships in 2016 and 2018. She finished her career as Poland’s all-time
leading scorer with 1,303 career points and was named Conference Player of the Year twice. Her
accomplishments also included multiple All-Northeast Ohio and All-State honors, while she still
holds the program’s sophomore single-season scoring record with 404 points. In recognition of
her outstanding career, Gajdos was inducted into the Poland Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.

Following her playing career, Gajdos remained committed to the sport and the Poland girls'
basketball program through coaching. Over the past six years, she has coached high school
basketball, including the last three seasons alongside Coach Blanch on the Poland varsity staff.

“Bella understands what it means to represent Poland Athletics and this basketball program,” said
Nick Blanch. “She has a tremendous passion for the game, strong relationships with our
student-athletes, and a genuine commitment to continuing the tradition and standard of Poland
girls basketball. Having the opportunity to coach Bella as a player and later work alongside her as
a coach has made this a very special moment for me personally.”

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