Mexia ISD named Forney assistant coach Brady Bond as the Blackcats next athletic director and head football coach on Wednesday.

He replaces Triston Abron, who departed in March to take over at Pittsburg. 

Bond, a graduate of North Texas, spent five seasons as an assistant at Cedar Hill, which was his first coaching job; he’s also spent time as an assistant at Lake Travis, Hurst Bell, Marshall and most recently Forney High School. 

“Mexia is a place with great tradition and community support, they’ve done a great job with facility upgrades and it’s a place that I think we can go in and build a championship program and keep the Mexia tradition alive, with a little bit of ‘Blackcat Magic,'" Bond said. "The support from administration is eviden. Mr. Appleton and the Mexia ISD team have been great throughout the process and I’m excited to work with them.”

Bond and former Mexia and current West Mesquite head coach Frank Sandoval are close as both are former Cedar Hill assistants. 

Sandoval was instrumental in convincing him to apply.

“I talked to Coach Sandoval when the job opened and asked his thoughts on the community and job overall," Bond said. "He had great things to say about Mexia and his time there. That conversation really put me over the top on going all in on the job."

Coach Bond, a native of Cedar Hill, not only played but also coached under current Baylor assistant coach and Texas High School Hall of Fame coach Joey McGuire.

He takes over a Mexia squad that won the district title and advanced to the area round of the playoffs in 2020, but is in transition with the loss of a good senior class and next year’s senior class being on their third head coach in three seasons.