Gray Collegiate recently announced some new additions to its athletic staff. 

The school announced three moves, including two additions, one of which includes the start of an entirely new program at Gray Collegiate. 

Head football coach De’Angelo Bryant will take over the War Eagles’ track and field program. He will coach both teams with football in the fall and track in the spring. 

Haylee Dixon stepped in earlier in the fall as an athletic trainer and will remain in that role moving forward.

Finally, Robbie French has been appointed as the head coach of Gray’s inaugural boys tennis team, which will launch during the spring season.

“These additions further elevate the quality of our athletic programs and the support we provide to our student-athletes,” principal Brian Newsome said in a release. “We are excited about the vision and expertise each brings to Gray Collegiate Academy.”

Bryant will take over a track program that is on the rise. The War Eagles had many top finishers at the 2025 SCHSL 4A championships in both boys and girls events. The girls are coming off back-to-back overall team championships. 

French will lead the newly founded Gray boys tennis team in their first season, coming in just a few months. The War Eagles are hoping to tap into some success, as they’ve seen with their girls team. 

The girls squad finished runner-up in the 2025 SCHSL 4A championship, losing to A.C. Flora in a contest that came down to the final doubles match.

Gray’s athletic department has seen quite a few changes in the past few years, starting with head soccer coach Kevin Heise’s promotion to athletic director in February of 2024. 

Bryant was hired at the same time to lead Gray’s football program. The pair replaced Adam Holmes, who held both positions for the school’s first nine years.

Some of the moves the school has made since then include: bringing back Dion Bethea as the boys basketball coach, hiring Matthew Hornsby as its new baseball coach, hiring Deon Wilson as the inaugural wrestling coach and getting Katie Nunnery out of retirement to be the new cheer coach. 

Gray’s recent athletic makeover has not been limited to hiring new head coaches. Besides adding Dixon, the school previously expanded its support staff by bringing on Erik Schwager as strength and conditioning coordinator and Katie Clampitt as an academic and athletic liaison.