Every year, new coaches are hired at high schools across South Carolina, usually in the hopes of turning teams into winners and state contenders, or in maintaining an already successful program. In the coming season for Mount Pleasant teams, the following coaches are the latest hopefuls for a variety of programs.
Brent LaPrad
– Oceanside Collegiate Academy Football
Playing in multiple state title games is the kind of problem every high school football coach would like to have, but sometimes it can also make it challenging for a coach to keep players motivated and hungry.
Oceanside Collegiate Academy, for instance, has made three straight state title appearances, winning back-to-back championships in 2023-24. But long before the next group of OCA players take the field to kick off 2025 in their quest for another banner, new head coach Brent LaPrad intends to make sure everyone is approaching the new season as if they have never won anything.
“The last two years we hung our hat on our senior leadership; this year we will have to rely more on a new group,” said LaPrad, who served as a team assistant for two years before being hired this past March. “We have a lot of great players; we just have to get them all playing as one.”
LaPrad recalled 2024 when three big early losses seemed to put OCA out of state title contention. Yet both he and interim head coach John Patterson noticed that the players never reacted in a negative way, recognizing that the losses came against far better 5A opponents. The Landsharks then rallied to win all of their remaining games in 3A to finish 11-3 with another state trophy. “We believe in playing big teams early. We could go 0-5 early against them and still be in the running for another state title,” he said.
OCA athletic director Mark Meyer added that LaPrad was his choice to lead the team into its next big decade and maybe more. “Brad is a large part of the reason our football team has had great success,” Meyer said. “I look forward to seeing him grow as a head coach.”
As for keeping the players motivated for a formidable three-peat, LaPrad said collaboration between parents, coaches and players are to thank for it. “We believe in trust between us and them and telling the players to always put your best foot forward every game,” he said. “We have great kids who do things the right way and try to outwork opponents. And if we do that, we’ll have a shot in the end to win it all again.”
John Reynolds
– Wando Warriors Boys Basketball
In the school’s 52-year history, Wando Warriors basketball has often served to keep athletes in shape between fall and spring sports. It is this traditional mindset that new boys head basketball coach John Reynolds intends to change, with the goal of eventually turning the Warriors into a basketball power. “I’m excited about the challenge to build a program from the ground up,” said Reynolds, who Wando hired in April. “I’m aware of the school’s basketball history. But I don’t see any reason why that history has to be the future here.”
One item in Reynolds’ favor is that he comes from a basketball background, having served for the past 18 years as an in-state assistant or associate coach with Presbyterian College, the University of South Carolina and most recently, The Citadel. Another favorable element to rebuilding is that Warriors teams in the last decade have been good only a few times, losing 22 games this past season, and posting an overall mark of 127-141 since 2014-15.
Additionally, Reynolds himself is a former Citadel player, having helped turn a 6-24 team his freshman year in 2007 into a 20-13 squad in 2008. And he expects every Wando player over the next few years to come in with the same focus of taking the program in a positive direction.
“I want us to be competitive right off the bat, and I’ve been happy with our progress so far,” said Reynolds, whose players have been working drills and honing skills under his watch during the sweltering summer. “There are a lot of qualities I see where basketball can take off here.”
Reynolds’ rebuilding efforts, of course, will require some younger players to develop over the first several years. He expects to start the 2025-26 season with the play of multiple freshmen, a few sophomores and “maybe an eighth grader.”
Then the work begins of returning the Warriors to the magical season of 2013-14 when they won a state basketball title – the only one so far since the school opened in 1973. Along the way through fast breaks, set plays, mental readiness and constant player conditioning, Reynolds wants the entire Mount Pleasant community to regard Wando basketball as their team.
“It’s all a part of starting a new basketball era and building everything from scratch,” he said. “I do think our best years are ahead of us, but those years won’t come unless we build on it right now and begin with something that people in the community will come out and be a part of.”
Billy Bitter
– Bishop England Lady Bishops Lacrosse
Never mind his unusual last name, when it comes to lacrosse, new Bishop England girls head coach Billy Bitter already has his sights set on remaking and re-tooling the Lady Bishops into the second phase of a state power.
Bitter, who served the past two seasons as a team volunteer, follows on the heels of Jeff Reiner, who retired this past spring after 15 years, seven state titles and a 118-game winning streak across multiple seasons. “This is a program that is used to winning and I have some big shoes to fill,” said Bitter, who BE hired in June. “But it’s a challenge we can overcome if we put in the work.”
One advantage is that Bitter doesn’t have to start from scratch. The latest BE girls team lost 12-8 in the Region 6 AAAA 2025 state final to neighboring Oceanside Collegiate Academy, the first time OCA had ever beaten the Lady Bishops.
Despite the rare defeat, Bitter sees it as an extra motivator toward eventually winning title number eight. “We need to put in a lot of effort to get back to state level, and I’m going to schedule a lot of teams out of state,” he said. “Getting the draw is one area we have to improve, and we have a new starting goalie who I think will be a great addition.”
Their biggest competition for next season will be Providence Day out of Charlotte, North Carolina; Lambert out of Suwanee, Georgia; defending state 5A champion and neighbor Lucy Beckham; and of course, defending 3A champ OCA.
“What I preach a lot of is ‘one cradle and move the ball,’ with everybody moving, until you score,” said Bitter, who also runs a summer lacrosse camp through the Charleston recreation league for future hopefuls. “And that’s going to take a high level of stick skills and fundamentals. You have to work harder without the ball than with it, but I believe this team can be tremendous and I’m going to make sure they believe in it and themselves as well.”
So how long does Bitter think it will take for the Lady Bishops to return to the pinnacle of high school lacrosse? “I have six nieces and three daughters, and all will be coming through the program. And by the time they get here, I’m hoping to have BE girls back to where it was under coach Reiner,” Bitter said. “I’m excited to take over a storied program at this school, where faith is a huge priority, and help these girls on their journey, and continue that same path of winning and developing players.”
By L. C. Leach III
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