Higley hires David Grace as head boys basketball coach#
Higley High School has named David Grace its new head boys basketball coach, ending a month-long search after Kenneth Drake's resignation. Grace — a former UCLA assistant and longtime Arizona prep coach — takes over a Hawks program coming off a 2025-26 Open Division quarterfinal run.
It's a notable get for a Class 6A job. Grace's résumé runs deeper than most Arizona high school hires this offseason.
Inside David Grace's coaching résumé#
Grace is best known locally for the 2005-06 5A-2 Arizona state title he won at South Mountain, but the rest of the bio is what sets this Higley hire apart:
- Centennial (Peoria, AZ) — head coach, reached the 5A Final Four in 2022-23 - Campbell Hall (Studio City, CA) — head coach until October 2025 - UCLA — assistant coach from 2013 to 2018 under the Bruins' staff - Division I head and assistant stops at Sacramento State, San Francisco, Cal, Vanderbilt, and Oregon State
That mix of Arizona high school championship pedigree and Power-Five college experience matters at a school like Higley, where the next two recruiting cycles include players who will draw college eyes whether the staff is ready for it or not.
What Higley brings back in 2026-27#
Grace doesn't inherit a rebuild. The Hawks reached the Open Division quarterfinals last winter before bowing out at Millennium, and the cupboard is full going into 2026-27:
- Isaiah Rider IV — Class of 2029 guard - Marquice Pless — Class of 2029 - Mike McIntyre — Class of 2028
That's a returning core good enough to keep Higley in the Arizona Open Division contender conversation, and the program already has an automatic Section 7 bid lined up for the summer live period.
What the hire means for Higley basketball#
Open Division contenders don't usually change head coaches mid-cycle, and they almost never replace one with a coach whose last three jobs were the Southern California prep circuit and a D1 staff at UCLA. Whether Grace's college-flavored system translates to a roster built around three returning starters is the question — but Higley just made itself one of the more interesting offseason stories in Arizona 6A boys basketball.