Greg Devers is getting started at Goodrich High School after accepting its athletic director and head basketball coaching positions. Last week, he met the Hornet student athletes and attended their athletic banquet. He took their sizes and numbers to order new uniforms that the team chose, all in preparation for the fall.
There is plenty of work to be done, and the veteran coach hopes much will be determined over the break. School is out, but Hornet basketball will be buzzing through the heated months to develop under his guidance.
“Coming in here, we're going to do this thing right,” Devers said. “I'm going to get it set up with some new uniforms, how (they) like them and everything, so they helped design it. They got excited about that. Just like when you buy a house, you put a fresh coat of paint on it. It's the same thing here.
“Hopefully, we'll start doing the drills. We're going to start strength and conditioning next week. We'll do the running and the lifting, then we get the skills work that UIL lets us do now.”
That should give Devers a good idea of what he’s inherited. The coach was informed he was the school’s choice about a month ago, taking over for Cordell Carter, who plans to pursue interests outside of education. Carter was able to help the program regain some footing in his year on the job. The Hornets had won just three games through three previous seasons combined, but registered an 8-20 mark in 2025-26, defeating rival Leggett twice. The Pirates had not been outscored by Goodrich since 2012.
In May’s school board meeting, Goodrich Superintendent Daniel Barton said the choice of Devers was not difficult.
“If you see his resume, it's a very, very impressive resume,” Barton said, introducing the new athletic director to the board. “You can tell just interviewing and visiting with him, he's extremely wise. He knows pretty much everybody in the business, and he is highly thought of by his peers and administrators all over. Some of the comments that I got when I first started talking to people about Mr. Devers was, ‘If you can get him, that's what you're after.’”
Goodrich ISD has several athletic improvements in progress – some discussed during that meeting – including a revamped fieldhouse, new track and lighting, and resurfacing floors in both gymnasiums.
Devers’ head coaching career began at Stafford for two years, taking them to a final four. He was a combined 51-20, with a district title the first season, progressing to a state appearance the second year.
He left to open a program at Manvel High School. They played on the junior varsity level for that inaugural schedule, with only freshmen and sophomores on the team. There for eight varsity seasons, the school’s best three-year stretch compiled a mark of 90-17. The playoffs proved to be difficult, dropping games to eventual state champions in North Shore and Yates.
Moving closer to family in Livingston, Devers took the Coldspring job. Highlights of those seven seasons include a state tournament appearance in 2020, and another strong three-year period where the school was 95-15 with a 36-0 record in district.
Corrigan-Camden hadn’t played postseason basketball since 2009 or secured a district title since 2001. Devers accomplished both in his first chance there, going 25-5 and undefeated in district, then setting a school record for victories at 27 his second season.
Last year, he took over a young Hardin team that the coach said was difficult to leave, feeling they should be playoff-bound this season.
Run, press, forget the rest – that is the new Goodrich philosophy. Defensively, the Hornets will swarm for “32 minutes of hell,” as Devers calls it. Offensively, expect more running. Devers’ style is up-tempo, shoots from long range, and scores in bunches.
“We're going to full-court press, fall back to half-court, and then we're going to be trapping all over the place. We're going to give up a couple of layups, but every two points that we give up, I'm hoping to get eight points out of it from turnovers.”
Endurance will play a factor, and the coach was quick to point out that Goodrich had a successful cross-country team in 2025, advancing to regionals.
“I told the kids, ‘Every one of you is going to be running cross-country. You may get lost in the woods and we may have to come find you, but you're going.’”
Success is expected soon, but it won’t be easy. Brookeland remains the overwhelming favorite in District 28-1A, while Chester, Spurger and Hull-Daisetta are all expected to be competitors for the four playoff spots.
If Devers can reach the 1A playoffs at Goodrich, it completes an accomplishment that may be a first in the state. He has made the postseason in each classification from 2A to 6A. The same goal is available to him for undefeated district championships at every high school level.
“My main focus is to get Goodrich back in the playoffs. I'm 48 victories away from 500, so I’ve got like a little personal goal myself, but that's on the back burner. My goal this year is to get Goodrich in the playoffs. Coach Carter laid the foundation, now it's time for us to start building the walls. I went to the state tournament this year, and they had the 25-year anniversary (state championship) Goodrich team at halftime. There's a lot of history here.”
