He'll replace Ben Dotson, who resigned after this season.

Birdwell says he and his wife put together a list of schools he'd leave Oak Ridge for an opporunity to coach and Siegel was high on that list...

Birdwell was also a student manager at Tennessee under then head coach Bruce Pearl, along with Riverdale assistant coach Jay Spurlock. He says he's excited to be the head coach of a program that's been to six state tournaments since opening in 2003.

The 26-year old also played basketball at Macon County High School before going to U-T. Birdwell will have his first meeting with the Siegel team on Thursday.

To hear a 10-minute interview with Coach Birdwell, log-on to WGNSRadio.com, keyword Siegel to listen.

BRYAN BARRETT'S INTERVIEW WITH SIEGEL BOYS COACH DYRON BIRDWELL...