Denton ISD pending board approval Tuesday night is expected to name Corpus Christi Miller head coach Justen Evans as the next head football coach at Denton Braswell High School replacing Kent Laster, who departed after three seasons.

Evans leaves Miller after a wildly successful nine-year stint on the northside where he built Miller into a South Texas power by winning at least 10 games four times in six seasons between 2019-2024. Evans led Miller to a regional final appearance as a 4A-Division I program in 2020, as a 5A-Division I program in 2023 and as a 5A-Division II program in 2024. His best season came in 2023 when the Bucs went 13-1; it was the school's best season since 1963 when they were state runners-up. Before arriving on the scene in North Corpus Christi, Miller had not had a winning season since 2001 and were 3-27 in the three seasons before he arrived. 

“It’s funny, Kendrick Brown the athletic director of Lancaster initially made the connection with me and Joey Florence (Denton ISD Athletic Director), then when I looked into it, I saw a great area, a school with great facilities and that was attractive," Miller said. "I watched every Braswell game from last year and you can see the bodies are in the building, so the raw material is there to win at BHS if you can mold that talent and put a system in place that’s a fit. You can be successful.

"The real thing that made me pursue this opening was when you take a look at the other three head coaches in Denton ISD, you see the guys that are at those programs and to me it means Denton’s doing something right and I want to be part of that if you have guys like David Beatty, Reed Heim and Shane Tolleson as the head coaches."

The new Denton Braswell head coach has a 10-year head coaching record of 84-36. He also spent one season as the head coach at Alice in 2016 where he posted a 7-3 record. Evans also spent time as an assistant at Taft, Kingsville Academy and Corpus Christi King before landing the Alice job.

“Denton ISD had a high-class process, the best I’ve ever been involved in," Miller said. "Coach Flo (Joey Florence) is a rockstar. The campus administration is great as well. The principal really impressed me. they had good questions and you can tell the value they place on a well-rounded athletic program."

Evans hopes to get going at Braswell soon with a 30-day plan.

“Obviously we want to retain our kids," he said. "I need to get in front of them quickly and get those guys excited and build those relationships. Transition is tough, but I know kids are resilient and they adapt quickly. Hiring a staff will be huge. There’s some guys from down here I’d like to bring, but I also want to meet and evaluate the guys currently on staff. I want to meet the coaches in the other spots and get to know the teachers and community stakeholders."

A decision on spring football will come after the 30-day transition period wraps up, but Evans says he does plan on having Braswell active in the 7-on-7 circuit this summer.

“The transition personally will be made a lot easier because my brother lives eight minutes from Braswell," he said. "So that is huge while we try and sell our house in Corpus and can find a place for my family up here."

This will be the second head coaching opening in Corpus Christi ISD this offseason as Corpus Christi Ray opened up in November after Craig Charlton’s retirement.

Miller is the oldest program in Corpus Christi with the largest alumni base, so there’s no doubt this will be a key hire for new Corpus Christi ISD athletic director Kevin Hendrickson. Miller stumbled to a 4-7 record a year ago with a very young team, so hopes are high as the Bucs drop back down to Class 4A-Division I after UIL Realignment.