CHERRY TWP — At age 23, Matt Stebbins has become a high school varsity girls basketball coach.

He doesn’t believe it’s before his time.

“Actually, I feel like I’ve been prepping for this for a lifetime,” he said.

Stebbins, who will graduate from Slippery Rock University in December with a degree in history, was named girls basketball coach at Moniteau High School last month. He was the junior varsity coach for Slippery Rock High School last season.

Before that, he was a varsity assistant at Mohawk. Stebbins also works 5-Star Basketball Camps throughout the country and has participated in Coach K’s (Mike Krzyzewski) Duke camps in North Carolina.

“I have plenty of mentors,” he said.

His biggest mentor is his father, the late Randy Stebbins, who was varsity girls basketball coach at Otto-Eldred for 12 years. He died after a two-year fight with cancer in 2004.

“My father coached his final game from a wheelchair and died two days later,” Stebbins said. “He’s been the driving force behind me wanting to become a head coach.

“I so badly want to follow in his footsteps.”

Randy Stebbins was 194-112 in his career at Otto-Eldred. Matt Stebbins played point guard and shooting guard at the same school, sinking 45 3-pointers his senior season.

Moniteau athletic director Jim Metz said Stebbins was selected from “four or five strong candidates.”

“Matt is enthusiastic and highly energetic,” Metz said. “You can tell coaching is in his blood. He’s doing everything the right way.

“Days after he was hired, he had already met with the girls, the parents, boosters ... everybody.”

Stebbins has traveled to San Diego, Louisville, Atlanta and Connecticut, among other places, working 5-Star Basketball Camps. He plans on more travels in August.

Until then, he’s all about Moniteau.

“I needed to dedicate June and July to these girls,” he said. “We’ve already played 22 summer league games and there’s another 20 coming up. We’re playing high-caliber WPIAL and District 10 teams.

“Summer basketball isn’t about winning. It’s about getting better.”

Stebbins is taking over for Mark Yeager, who resigned the Moniteau post after last season. Yeager won 129 games in 11 years with the Warriors, including a 14-11 record and District 9 Class AA title game appearance this past winter.

“Mark left a solid program in place and I’m confident Matt will run with it,” Metz said. “I’m excited about this hire. This guy is the total package. And he’s planning on staying here for a while.”

Stebbins plans to pursue his masters in education at SRU.

“This is a great situation for myself,” he said. “I’m stepping into a program with hard-working kids I can shape and mold. We’ve got a lot of girls active in the gym right now.

“The players and parents are all supportive. They want to win and that’s all a coach can ask.”