South tabs Chad DeBruyn as boys basketball coach

May 26—CHEYENNE − Chad DeBruyn didn't rule out a return to coaching when he stepped down as Cheyenne South's girls basketball coach after the 2020-21 season.

He stressed that he was making the move because he thought it was time for some fresh blood at the position, especially after the Bison graduated a sizable senior class that had several players with three and four years of varsity experience.

DeBruyn knew he was going to dust off his whistle and whiteboard at some point. He didn't expect it to be after just one season, though.

DeBruyn will return to the sidelines this winter after accepting South's boys basketball job late Wednesday afternoon.

"I knew at some point there'd be an opportunity at South," DeBruyn said. "I don't want to go anywhere. I want to finish my teaching and coaching careers at South. ... The kids have voted me to be graduation speaker, which is always quite the honor. I feel very at home at South.

"The opportunity (to coach again) presented itself, so it worked out perfectly."

DeBruyn succeeds Jeff Bailey, who stepped down earlier this month for personal and family reasons. Bailey's Bison accumulated a 25-62 record during his four seasons at the helm. They were 10-13 this past season, and finished one win short of making their fourth appearance at the Class 4A state tournament in school history.

DeBruyn said he feels refreshed from his year away, even though he didn't step aside because of the toll coaching takes on a person.

"Coaching at the high school level is a grind, and you're not going to last many years in this business if you don't embrace it," he said. "The people that have staying power love the grind. I missed being in the gym, but I got to spend a little more time at home and do some things around the house.

"I'm super excited to get back into coaching. You can only do so much laying around with the dog in the winter time."

DeBruyn coached South's girls for six seasons. His teams posted a 38-96 record. He also has been an assistant for South's boys, the Cheyenne Central girls and had stops in Rawlins and Yuma, Colorado.

DeBruyn − who teaches social studies at South − was still a fixture in the Bison's gym this winter, even though he wasn't coaching. He attended every girls and boys varsity home game.

"I also traveled to a few games on the road and watched all the other ones on video streams when I couldn't travel," he said. "I have a pretty close relationship with these kids because I have them in class and see them all year and not just during basketball season.

"I like what we have coming back in terms of citizenship and leaders in the building. Basketball will come as these kids get a little bit more experience."

DeBruyn sees a bright future for the Bison on the hardwood.

"We're going to have a lot of learning to do, because this is going to be a new system for these kids," he said. "But I think we could really make something happen at South. We've got really good kids, and the numbers in the program are up and keep going up every year.

"I'm always shocked at how many kids we have come out. There's a lot of potential here."

Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on Twitter at @jjohnke.