Graduate humbled to be second-ever coach of storied high school program
Paul Laurence Dunbar has looked within the Bulldogs family in naming the next head coach to take over one of the state’s most decorated boys’ soccer programs.
James Wray, a 1996 Dunbar graduate and longtime local club soccer coach, met with players Thursday morning after he was introduced as the second coach in school history for the four-time state champions.
“First and foremost, this is my alma mater, and it’s really a humbling opportunity to coach at your alma mater,” Wray said. “The challenge of the tradition and the program they’ve built here is exciting to me. I look forward to the challenge. I look forward to carrying on the tradition that Coach (Todd) Bretz created here. I know it’s huge shoes to fill, but I’m looking forward to it and ready to get started.”
This will be the first high school coaching job for Wray, but he has been a high-level club coach with Lexington FC and most recently Kings Hammer Bluegrass. Since 2018, he has been president of Tower Hill Sports, a massive indoor soccer training facility in Lexington. Prior, he was director of financial administration for UK Healthcare. He has a bachelor’s in finance from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from Indiana University.
“We were very impressed with not only his experience in soccer, but his professionalism,” Dunbar Athletics Director Jason Howell said. “James Wray is very well spoken. He is a technical teacher of the game of soccer. We think his style of play is going to fit well with the kids. And he’s a Dunbar graduate. At the end of the day, he’s the best fit for us, and we feel like even though we have a rich tradition, I think our rich tradition got wealthier today and it’s going to be advanced moving forward.”
The Bulldogs have won four state titles (1992, 2001, 2005 and 2013), third only to St. Xavier and Ballard, and have more than 500 wins in their 29-year history.
Jason Behler, head coach of 11th Region rival and 2019 state champion Henry Clay, praised the hire. It “brings another high quality coach into the city landscape. I am sure he knows the expectations of that program, its history, and will be ready to add to their great tradition. I have played with him and against him; he is a competitor, and I expect his teams will take on that personality.”
Wray succeeds Todd Bretz, the winningest coach in Kentucky boys’ high school soccer, after a tumultuous season that saw Bretz ruled ineligible to coach a Fayette County public school by the district. Bretz has since been hired by Sayre, a private school, to lead its boys’ soccer program.
The Bulldogs finished 2019 with an 11-7-2 record and as runner-up in the 43rd District, arguably the toughest soccer district in the state.
“I think they were looking for somebody to get this program back on top and would embrace the challenge,” Wray said of the Dunbar hiring committee. “Being an alumni certainly helps, but I don’t know if it’s critical to leading a program like this. As an alumni, I’m proud to be back.”
Douglass volleyball hire
Frederick Douglass has hired Kate Topley as its new head volleyball coach.
Topley most recently has been an assistant coach at Tates Creek and head coach of the Edythe J. Hayes Middle School program. She is also a national level club coach with Lexington United Volleyball.
