Loveland, OH - Loveland High School Athletics Director Rich Bryant announced Monday the hiring of co-head coaches for the 2022-23 girls basketball season. Keith Braswell and Brad Early will bilaterally lead Tigers’ girls basketball this upcoming season. Both were longtime assistants of the late Darnell Parker, whose wife, Samantha, welcomed their baby boy Jalen on August 29th.
Parker tragically passed away last month following a nearly two-year battle with colon cancer. The two-time ECC Coach of the Year led a once dormant program to back-to-back ECC championships and a 93-31 record in five years at the helm.
Braswell and Parker have worked on the same bench for upwards of a decade, dating back to their time leading Clark Montessori High School’s boys program. Early, whose daughter Josie Early (12) won Second Team All-Conference honors last year as a junior while averaging 10.2 points per game, joined Parker’s staff at Loveland in 2017.
Bryant noted the need for continuity in the face of tragedy, saying, “The girls in our basketball program have had an incredibly difficult two years on so many levels. It was important that we provided student-athletes and families consistency as we continue to grieve the loss of Coach Parker.”
Varsity returner Grace Dressell (11) agrees with Bryant, saying, “With the recent passing of Coach Parker, our program needed some familiar faces. Coach Early and Coach Braswell will continue to lead us in honor of Coach Parker and continue the legacy that has been created.”
Braswell looks forward to building upon the foundation he and Parker set forth, saying, “I am excited and honored to continue to build the Loveland Girls’ Basketball tradition. Coach Early and I will continue to make the community, the program, and Coach Parker proud!”
In an interview with Mike Dyer of WCPO, Early noted familiarity as why the tandem of he and Braswell is right for the job, saying, “It takes two of us to even attempt to fill Coach Parker’s shoes. Keith and I believe continuity for the kids is most important right now. We understand that every basketball moment comes with memories and feelings. The girls need familiar faces out there. Darnell's #OurWay motto will be carried on.”
Senior forward Olivia Raby (12), who returns following a campaign in which she received All-Conference First Team honors, agreed with Dressell, saying, “Coach Braswell and Coach Early have been coaching me since my freshman year and I am so grateful to have them as coaches for my last year at the high school. I couldn’t ask for a better support system for me and the team as a whole.” The four-year varsity standout also added that the program should continue its success, stating, “I can’t wait to continue to learn and grow from both of them. I’m so excited for this season and to see the success that we will have.”
Bryant also added that he believes both coaches provide valuable attributes on and off the court, saying, “Collectively, we are in a very good place from a basketball perspective, as well as the support perspective for all of those within our girls basketball program.”
Braswell concluded by saying that the program would continue with Parker’s fun, fast, and exciting style of play. Check the Tigers out when they open the 2022-23 season in late November.