13-05-2025
Greenfield-Central needs to replace more than Braylon Mullins. New coach knows 'it's a total rebuild'
Miles Wayer knows the task of rebuilding the Greenfield-Central basketball program after the graduation of the best player in school history might seem daunting.
But on the other hand, the opportunity to coach at a Class 4A program is enticing. The 27-year-old Wayer, an assistant the past three seasons at Fishers, was officially approved as the new Greenfield-Central coach at Monday night's school board meeting.
'I know it's a total rebuild after losing (Mr. Basketball) Braylon Mullins and the rest of the senior class,' Wayer said. 'I know that. But I'm hoping kids in the community saw the success a kid like Braylon and that group had and it helps spark some interest with the youth and we can work to build a good youth feeder program and really hone in on skill development.'
Wayer, who played at Mt. Vernon in high school and the University of Indianapolis in college, will not have much in the way of returning players. Mullins, who will leave for UConn early next month, averaged 32.9 points as a senior on his way to scoring a school record 2,158 points and earning McDonald's All American honors, along with Mr. Basketball.
Also gone from that 23-4 team are starters Mikey Johnson, Boston Willard and Dallas Freeman. Overall, 91.4% of the scoring is gone going into next season. Former coach Luke Meredith resigned in April after six seasons but will continue to have a role as the strength coach at Greenfield-Central.
'He's said nothing but great things,' Wayer said of Meredith. 'It's a great community. Some people might see that as not a good thing to have the former coach still there, but me as a first-year head coach, it will be good to have a helpful hand I can go to and ask, 'How did you handle this situation?' He wants nothing but the best for this program and community.'
Wayer has played a key role in skill development for Fishers the past three seasons for teams that won a 4A state title two years ago and were runner-up last season. He said it was difficult to leave a program that should again be among the best in the state next season.
'It was a great situation there with Garrett (Winegar) and we probably would have had a chance of making another state run,' he said. 'But you can't pass up opportunities like this because you never know when they are going to come around. Garrett has been a great mentor to me. I believe he could coach at any level. I hope nothing but the best for Fishers. These last three years have been the best experience and that's what made leaving so hard.'
Wayer mentioned his high school coaches — Steve Lynch for his first year of high school, then Travis Daugherty for his last three years at Mt. Vernon — along with former UIndy coach Stan Gouard as other important people in his coaching journey. His brother, Taylor Wayer, coached at Bishop Chatard from 2019-21 and the brothers both do skill development training.
'I feel ready for this experience,' Wayer said. 'I've been lucky enough to be around coach Winegar, coach Lynch, coach Daugherty. I'm really thankful. Taylor played a huge role, too, when he was training me as a player. All of those coaches I've been blessed to be around.'
Inexperienced or not, Wayer said he expects his teams to compete.
'I think from the jump it will be important for me to set the tone,' he said. 'Every single opportunity you get to be on the floor, it's important to bring that energy and bring toughness. I think another thing is that togetherness and family environment. My last year of college basketball was the COVID year, and we never got that last game ever. You don't know what can happen, so you want to make sure every moment matters.'
