Apr. 23—LAKE CITY — The most successful women's basketball coach that Rochester Community and Technical College has ever had is going to try his hand coaching one of most traditionally successful high school programs in Minnesota.
Jason Bonde has been announced as the next Lake City boys basketball coach. He succeeds Greg Berge, who in 20 years coached the Tigers to a 392-146 record with three state tournament appearances mixed in.
Bonde becomes just the fourth boys basketball coach ever at Lake City. He was preceded by Jerry Snyder (28 years), Shawn Sweeney (eight years) and Berge.
"Leaving RCTC (where he coached for five seasons) wasn't an easy decision because it's tough leaving a program that you've invested so much in," said the 48-year-old Bonde. "But opportunities come up that aren't always in your plan."
Bonde sees this Lake City boys job as a golden chance.
"I'm really excited about this," Bonde said.
Bonde spent this past basketball season without a women's team at RCTC. After winning the national championship and being named the Division III Junior College Women's Coach of the Year in 2024-25, RCTC did not have enough players to field a team in 2025-26.
Instead, Bonde spent his time helping out with the Lake City girls team and re-acclimating himself with the high school scene.
A resident of Lake City the past 18 years, where he is married with three children, Bonde knows the community well. The more he worked with the high school athletes, the more operating at this level piqued his interest.
He did all of that while also keeping his hands on the RCTC women's coaching job, doing ample recruiting in order to have a full roster of players for next year.
Now, RCTC will be searching for a new coach and hoping it's able to hang on to the players who'd committed to Bonde.
There is great appeal to Bonde in coaching at the place he is a resident.
"You live in a place for 18 years and you get into a groove and a routine," Bonde said. "The amount of time this year that I was able to spend at home with my family, and me being home at night, I really appreciated that."
Once Bonde learned that Berge was retiring, he was immediately interested in that job. He wasn't necessarily thinking that a high school coaching job would be what he was after. But no doubt his appetite for this level was whetted from the work he was putting in with the Lake City girls.
Now, in directing the Lake City boys he knows he has a special task in front of him. The boys basketball tradition at Lake City is rich.
"Once I found out that Greg was leaving it really sparked an interest in me," Bonde said. "It really made me think about what I was doing. The amount of time and effort in the college game is great. But once I talked to the (Lake City administration), I really decided that this was what I would love to do. The boys basketball tradition at Lake City has been great. There is a lot of talent in small towns like Lake City."
Bonde said he was disappointed to not be able to field a team this past season at RCTC. But now that he looks at it with some new perspective, he believes he might have caught a break.
"Things didn't go this year as planned," Bonde said. "But things happen for a reason. There are other opportunities out there and you have to take a look at them when they come up."
The Lake City boys team finished its 2025-26 season with a 14-13 record and a loss to eventual Section 1, Class 2A champion Goodhue in the quarterfinals.
Lake City returns one of the area's top individual talents next season in Gavyn Lorenson. The junior guard averaged 29.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He is garnering some Division I interest.