Two championship WPIAL boys basketball coaches have decided to step away from the game.

Whether it’s just a timeout from their coaching journey or the clock has expired on their days as head coach remains to be seen.

Matt Clement of Butler and Jim Rocco of North Catholic have resigned.

Clement steps aside after 17 years as head coach of the Golden Tornado.

His coaching record at his alma mater was 248-148. He led Butler to the WPIAL playoffs in 14 of his 17 seasons.

Clement guided the Golden Tornado to three WPIAL championship games, losing to Pine-Richland in the first Class 6A championship game, 72-61, and falling to Mt. Lebanon two years later in the 2019 Class 6A finals, 62-57.

However, a year later, Butler truly was golden as it knocked off Peters Township and Upper St. Clair to reach the 2020 finals, where it defeated Mt. Lebanon in the rematch, 70-61.

Clement was a major league baseball pitcher for nine years, playing for San Diego, Florida, the Chicago Cubs and Boston.

Jim Rocco steps away from North Catholic after five seasons and two WPIAL championship game appearances.

As head coach of the Trojans, Rocco was 96-34 with losses in the 2023 WPIAL Class 4A finals to Lincoln Park, 78-68, and in the 2025 title game to Belle Vernon, 54-49.

Overall in 30 years of coaching WPIAL boys basketball, Rocco has a record of 407-233.

He coached at Penn Hills from 1996-2015, winning 257 games with two WPIAL championships. The Indians defeated Butler in the 2000 Class 4A finals, 73-63, then won it all again three years later with a victory over Upper St. Clair in the 2003 title game, 51-41.

A year later, he led Penn Hills to its first and only PIAA championship in 2004.

He left Penn Hills to coach as Penn-Trafford in 2015. He coached the Warriors for five years and had a record of 54-57 with the green and gold.

“Both of their teams were always prepared and played hard,” longtime Upper St. Clair coach Dasnny Holzer said. “You knew when you were playing any of the teams Jim and Matt coached, it was going to be a battle. They were very similar as well; they always had a lot of scoring options and played fast.

“Much respect to the both of them.”

On the flip side, Peters Township has filled its boys basketball coaching vacancy with the hiring of Rob Zewe.

Zewe had been a college assistant coach at IUP, Nevada, Cal State-Fullerton and Denver.

He is a Baldwin graduate.