BOYS BASKETBALL: Booth steps down as Red Oak head coach

Trey Booth has stepped down as the head coach of the Red Oak boys basketball program.

Red Oak Public Schools' Board of Education approved the move at its March 12 meeting following a season in which the Eagles won their third basketball state title in Booth's 27th career season coaching basketball.

Booth cited his desire to spend more time with his family as the reason for him stepping away from basketball — but he will remain as Red Oak's athletic director and head baseball coach. However, he did not rule out a return to coaching basketball in the future.

"I think at the end of the day, there's nothing more important than family...they give up a lot," Booth said. "It's tough being in a coach's family. There's definitely some positives, but there is some negatives. I don't think the majority of people realize just how many hours you have to put in to play or be successful at a high level, and I'm looking forward to having some time off."

Booth said he wanted to coach this past season to stay through with the senior class that will be graduating this year.

Red Oak officials confirmed the school is weighing different options for Booth's replacement.

Booth led the Eagles to the Class B state championship this past season — the team's third gold ball in history. Red Oak also won basketball state championships with Booth at the helm in 2009 and 2016.

He started coaching at Buffalo Valley in 1991-92, where he coached both the boys and girls. Booth graduated from Red Oak in 1987 and returned to his alma mater during the 2004-05 school year. He stepped down as the girls coach after the 2005-06 season to focus solely on the boys and got his 500th career win in boys basketball on Dec. 15, 2016, against Hartshorne.

Booth said he is thankful for the community and the support they give. 

"There's nothing like Friday nights at Red Oak in our little gym," he said. "There's a lot of big gyms, beautiful gyms being built in a lot of places.

"Hopefully, one of those days, that we'll have one at Red Oak — but something I hope that we never lose is the atmosphere that we have at our home basketball games," he added. "What the Red Oak fans bring to high school basketball in our area is very rare and very, very appreciated by me and players who have played there."

Booth is married to Brase and he has two daughters — Cheyenne Hudson and Chantry Booth. His son, Jordan, played for him on the 2009 state basketball championship team and was an assistant coach for his father on the 2016 title team. Booth has two grandchildren — Nolan Booth, Jordan's son, and Cal Hudson, who was born Feb. 28. Booth also has two stepsons, Chet and Westen Coffey.

Contact Corey Stolzenbach at cstolzenbach@mcalesternews.com