Waco University Head Coach Named at Denton Braswell

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Waco University head coach Kent Laster has been named the second-ever head coach at Denton Braswell, Denton ISD announced Monday.

He takes over for Cody Moore, who resigned in early March and is now the offensive coordinator at Rockwall-Heath. Braswell posted a 3-7 mark in 2022.

Laster has spent the last two seasons authoring one of the state’s more underrated turnaround stories at Waco University. In 2021, which was his first season leading the long-struggling Trojans, they posted an 0-10 record, but turned things around in 2022 with a 6-6 mark and a second-round playoff appearance - University’s first playoff appearance and playoff win since 2009. One notable item from University’s 2022 season is four of their losses were by a combined six points.

“I am so grateful to the administration in Waco ISD for giving me a chance to come home to Texas and be a head coach," he said. "They’ve supported me throughout this entire process and I can’t say enough good things about them and the south Waco community, they bought in when we got here and I feel like the program is headed in the right direction."

A native of Dallas, Laster attended Lake Highlands High School and played his college ball at Southwest Texas State (now Texas State). He is no stranger to turning programs around. In his first head coaching stint at Little Rock Central in Arkansas from 2018-2020 he took a program that had just nine wins combined in the previous three seasons and by Year 2 at Central he posted a 6-5 mark and led the Tigers to the playoffs. His final season was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, but he did lead Central back to the playoffs and a first-round playoff win over Class 7A powerhouse Fayetteville in the first round of the playoffs.

Laster spent much of his time in the college game early in his coaching career as his first job out of college was coaching running backs at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas. After one year there he returned to his alma mater Texas State where he worked under David Bailiff coaching running backs for one season and cornerbacks for one season. Coach Laster then spent one year each at Samford and Middle Tennessee State University, before coming back to Texas State to coach tight ends for one year. Laster then moved on to Tennessee-Martin where he coached receivers before in 2007, he decided to come back to Texas and step into the high school game.

“My dream was to be a head coach in Texas," he said. "The college game and the constant movement and not putting roots down just got old,” said Laster, who joined the staff at Weatherford High school in 2007 where he spent two seasons coaching linebackers.

Laster then moved to Frisco Heritage in 2009 where he’d spent the next nine seasons on the Coyotes staff as the head track coach and then in 2012 he earned the offensive coordinator title, which he held until he left in 2018 for Little Rock Central.

He has some familiarity with the Braswell community.

“I am very familiar with the area," he said. "I lived near the campus when I coached in Frisco, then when I interviewed and saw the facilities and met with Mr. Hailey and Coach Florence, it just blew me away.  It was the best interview panel and set up I’d been a part of. The entire process was top notch and all the people involved were first class. I knew Denton ISD has had success in athletics and being part of this process has shown me from an up-close and personal perspective why they’ve had so much success in this district, they do things the right way.”

Laster is excited to get going and engage himself in the Braswell community.

“I feel I can take the things I’ve done at other spots and implement those things at Braswell," he said. "We want to be relentless with our engagement as a staff not only with the football players but with the entire school, the feeders and the community."

 

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