Born into basketball — son of NBA veteran-turned-referee Leon Wood, UCLA women’s basketball alum Tia Francis, and younger brother of Whitney Wood, a former Seton Hall player — Wolfgang Wood didn’t choose the game. The game chose him.
“I grew up in a basketball family,” Wood told The Coast News shortly after he was announced as Cathedral Catholic’s next boys’ varsity head coach on April 17. “I started with baseball, but by seventh or eighth grade, basketball found me.
“My parents let it happen organically. They never forced it. They always said, ‘If you love the game, it will find you.’ And for me, it did.”
Wood attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School before playing at Cal Lutheran, where he averaged 18.8 points per game and earned First Team All-SCIAC honors in 2017. Much of his early education, he said, came on a front-yard hoop, where he routinely lost to every member of his family.
“My mom always said, ‘discipline beats athleticism,’” Wood said. “You might not be the most athletic, but if you’re disciplined and competitive, you can overcome a lot. That mindset shaped who I am – competing the right way and doing things for the right reasons. That’s what carries into my coaching.”
Wood takes over for Graham Bousley, with Cathedral Catholic announcing in March that the two sides parted ways “under good terms.” Bousley went 58-32 in three seasons, guiding the Dons to three Open Division appearances.
For Wood, the fit is natural.
“I’ve been in faith-based schools my whole life,” he said. “Cathedral’s combination of strong academics, athletic tradition and values just made sense. They want to compete at a high level, and that aligns with who I am.”
From 2020 to 2026, Wood served as head coach at St. Bonaventure High School in Ventura, compiling a 115-66 record. His teams won three Tri-Valley League titles, reached three CIF-Southern Section finals and advanced to a CIF Regional final.
Wood was named Tri-Valley League Coach of the Year three times and Ventura County Coach of the Year once, and led the program to a school-record 26-win season.
Before that, he was a varsity assistant at his alma mater, Santa Margarita Catholic, contributing to a CIF-Southern Section Division I championship, and also coached at Newbury Park High.
“My teams have always taken pride in being tough,” Wood said. “We want to be physical, dictate on defense and make teams uncomfortable. Offensively, we share the ball. It’s harder to guard a team with four or five scoring options than just one. The goal is to wear teams down.”
Cathedral Catholic went 19-11 this past season, falling to Santa Fe Christian in the opening round of the Open Division section playoffs.
The Dons graduate five seniors, including their two leading scorers, but return freshman guard Anthony Ali Nayab, 9.2 points and 2.7 assists per game.
“I saw a lot of young talent,” Wood said. “There’s a good mix of athleticism and basketball IQ. For us, it starts on defense – using that length and athleticism to create offense. That’s who I am as a coach. They’re young, but I like the potential.”
A meet-and-greet for players and parents in Wood’s basketball program is scheduled for April 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Zak Myers Food Pantry & Service Learning Center, known as The ZAK.
