By: J. Daniel Pearson
For the second time since Nate Alexander stepped down as basketball coach at Osceola High in 2020, Osceola has reached into its rich history to find a successor. Late Monday afternoon, athletics director Jerry Gallman named Ryan Buhain as its next Head Coach.
Buhain replaces Steve Mason, who stepped down from his post following a 30-year relationship with the program.
A native of Kissimmee and a 2010 Gateway High graduate, Buhain earned a degree in exercise and sports science from UCF in 2016. He spent more than a decade as a “behind the scenes” influencer on Osceola High basketball players – designing and developing training programs for its players.
Buhain founded Two Hands Basketball, a training facility that works with basketball players of all ages. During his career, he had helped develop players at the high school, college and pro levels – including numerous NBA players including Kemba Walker, Tyrese Maxey and Jonathan Kuminga.
Although his coaching experience has been limited to youth and AAU basketball, Buhain says the transition to coaching from training should not be a huge leap. “First, I feel I’m a bit of a basketball savant. My whole life since high school has centered around basketball, studying it and learning the game. The training I do is centered on skills needed to be successful on the court, which is one of the main aspects of coaching. Probably the biggest issue is adjusting to the fact that I need to excel at the things a head coach is responsible for off the court – travel, collaborating with administration and day-to-day operational stuff.”
“This is a great hire for Osceola and I could not be more excited they went in that direction,” Mason, who is slated to become an assistant athletic director at the school said. “He’s an Osceola County guy who knows the tradition and expectations of the Kowboys and has been around our program and training many of our players for years. I’m super excited at what he can bring to the Kowboys.”
Buhain steps into a role where expectations are always high. Alexander spent 13 years at Osceola overall, including seven as head coach. He went 155-46 overall, won two state championships and made it to another Final Four. Mason, who had spent a prior stint as head coach with the Kowboys, stepped back into that role and coached six seasons (2020-26). In his second go-around as Osceola coach, Mason went 109-50, recorded three 20-win seasons and made several deep runs in the state playoffs.
“There’s no question I know what I am stepping into,” Buhain. “When I played at Gateway, beating Osceola was always one of the biggest goals of the season. Year-in and year-out Osceola has been considered the top program in the county and one of the best in the region. I understand what the expectations are going to be and I look forward to the challenges.”
