Welch won’t return as Lake Dallas boys basketball coach

DALLAS, TX – Josh Welch won’t return as Lake Dallas head boys basketball coach next season.

Lake Dallas ISD athletic director Scott Head confirmed Friday that Welch has been reassigned after nine years at the helm.

“He did a great job for us,” Head said. “We thought that it would be time that we reassign him and find another basketball coach. We’re going to send him down to the middle school and he’ll work with them.”

Head added that the search to find Welch’s replacement is underway and that he expects to name a new head coach within the next couple of weeks.

Welch was hired by Lake Dallas in August 2012 after spending one year as the head coach for Fort Worth Arlington Heights. He led the YellowJackets to an appearance in the regional finals in 2012 and was subsequently named the TABC Outstanding Coach of the Year.

Although Lake Dallas never reached the playoffs under Welch’s watch, he helped to lead the Falcons to a record of 17-17 during the 2019-20 season – the first non-losing season for the program since 2006.

“I am proud of the progress that has occurred since I have been here,” he said. “We took over a program that had struggled historically and I believe we have made them a competitive group.”

Lake Dallas finished this season with a record of 6-19.

“We were trending in the right direction until Christmas break,” Welch said. “We had a winning record then got hit by COVID and injuries. We started district with two starters out with COVID and it took them a while to recover. Then, we lost two starters to injury for pretty much the season. So, we went all of district without two starters which, makes it difficult. But, the guys that played would fight from jump to buzzer.”