Brandon Britt elevated Western High School's boys basketball team to new heights after taking over the program ahead of the 2018-19 season. Now, the Louisville native has decided to take the next step in his coaching career.
Britt on Wednesday announced his resignation from Western and will be joining the staff at Edward Waters University, a Division II program in Jacksonville, Florida, as an assistant coach. The Western Warriors went from 10-20 during Britt's first season at the helm — following a two-year stint at his alma mater, Indiana University Southeast — to 21-8 this past season, which ended with a loss to DeSales in the 22nd District Tournament.
In between, they reached their first regional championship game since 1977 in 2021 and posted a school-best record of 23-5 the following campaign.
"We appreciate everything you have done for Western as a school and as a basketball program," the Western boys basketball program said in a post on Twitter. "You have changed the culture for the better. Good luck to you and your family on this next chapter in your lives. We love you all!!!"
Edward Waters head coach Cabral Huff, in a statement, added, "(Britt's) attention to detail is the reason he is known as a developer of talent as well as a builder of programs. His ties to different recruiting areas were important to our recruiting efforts. He is a tireless worker who isn't afraid to find a way to get the job done."
Britt, who went 83-56 across five years at Western, is the second Warriors coach to leave the program this offseason. Assistant Brandon Anderson in April was named the successor to longtime Central head coach Doug Bibby.
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Around the city: Louisville softball uses transfer portal to add two from UK, loses All-ACC outfielder
Louisville softball coach Holly Aprile had an eventful week in the NCAA transfer portal, landing pitcher Izzy Harrison and outfielder Chelsea Mack from in-state rival Kentucky and infielder Riley Frizell from Missouri but losing All-ACC outfielder Korbe Otis to Florida.
Harrison went 1-3 across 11 appearances (six starts) as a sophom*ore, allowing 26 earned runs on 20 hits and 28 walks with 23 strikeouts in 19 innings of work. Appearing in 39 games, Mack collected three hits in 13 at-bats, scored six runs and led the Wildcats with eight stolen bases as a freshman. Frizell is heading into her senior season after batting .216 with five home runs and 22 RBIs across 134 plate appearances as a junior with the Tigers.
Otis' departure to the Gators is a big one. Starting all 56 games, she led the Cardinals in batting average (.414), hits (75), runs scored (63) and triples (seven) with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs to boot.
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Performance of the week:KIVA wins big at AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships
The Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy added another trophy to its collection on Thursday, when its 16 Red team captured the 16 Open division title at the AAU Junior National Championships in Orlando, Florida.
Coached by Melissa Starck Bean, 16 Red went 10-3 during tournament play — winning 22 sets and losing just nine. This is the club's first AAU national championship since 2019, according to KIVA's website, and its first in the 16 Open division since 2007.
The players who took part in the title run were: Emma Barnett (Assumption); Bailey Blair (Assumption); Shelby Davis (Oldham County); Bridget Egan (Sacred Heart); Emilee Fuller (Assumption); Isabela Haggard (Paul Laurence Dunbar); Elise Hart (Sacred Heart); Addison Makun (Silver Creek); Anna Powell (Sacred Heart); Kristen Simon (Assumption) and Trinity Ward (Holy Cross).
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High school recruiting: Wake Forest joins schools targeting Male High School lineman Isaac Sowells
- Male High School lineman Isaac Sowells picked up his ninth Division I football scholarship offer, from Wake Forest, on June 27. The 6-foot-2, 292-pound junior, who also holds offers from Louisville and Kentucky, has attended camps at Florida, Georgia and South Carolina over the past month.
- One of Sowells' teammates, senior quarterback Kolter Smith, reported receiving offers from John Melvin University, an NAIA school in Crowley, Louisiana, and Wright State over the past week.
- Hamilton Atkins, a Class of 2024 tight end and offensive lineman at St. Xavier, added another Division I program, Southern Illinois, to his list of suitors. Another Tiger in the trenches, senior Carter Guillaume, picked up an offer from Southeast Missouri on June 27.
- Bullitt East senior defensive lineman Isaiah Hare received a 10th scholarship offer, from the University of Indianapolis, on June 28.
- Bullitt Central junior Jordan Powell, a member of the 2023 All-23rd District team who pitches and plays in both the infield and outfield, committed to Eastern Kentucky on June 27.
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Mark your calendars
- Racing Louisville FC will host KC Current for an 8 p.m. kickoff Friday at Lynn Family Stadium, its last match before a two-week break.
- Louisville City FC is also at home this weekend and will face Loudoun United FC at 8 p.m. Saturday.
- The Louisville Bats wrap up a homestand against Indianapolis at 7:05 p.m. Monday, then travel to Toledo for a six-game series.
- Thousands of AAU girls basketball teams will descend upon Louisville for the Run 4 Roses Classic, which will see 3,101 games played from Thursday through July 11 across 100 courts at the Kentucky Exposition Center, the Kentucky International Convention Center and five other venues around the city.
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Play of the week: TJ Friedl goes from Louisville Bats to powering Cincinnati Reds to series win vs. Baltimore Orioles
TJ Friedl capped off a three-hit night Wednesday in Baltimore with a home run over the right-field wall at Camden Yards to give the Cincinnati Reds a 10-7 lead over the Orioles in the top of the 10th inning. After bouncing back and forth between the Reds and Bats over the past two seasons, the outfielder from Sewickley, Pennsylvania, has been an integral part of Cincinnati's surge to first place in the National League Central. He's batting .320 with 31 runs scored, 31 RBIs, six homers and 14 stolen bases with three series to go before the MLB All-Star break.
Each week we'll highlight what's going on in and around Louisville, from high school to pro sports, in our "Starting 5." Got a story to tell or a play of the week? Tweet at us @CJ_Sports. You can reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.
