Oak Ridge hires veteran coach Kevin Tubbs
Kevin Tubbs
“Oak Ridge has a great program,” Tubbs said. “Even if you’re from Alabama, you know about them.
“When this job came open, it came open late, but I knew I had to apply. Oak Ridge is a great school, both academically and athletically.
“The athletic program is first-class, and (athletic director Joe) Gaddis is a winner,” Tubbs said. “They’ve had success in baseball, football and basketball. It’s just a great school. That’s why I applied, and that’s why I came here.”
Tubbs has done plenty of winning of his own on the basketball court.
He arrives at ORHS with 278 wins as a high school coach. He led Homewood High School to an Alabama Class 6A state championship in 2017. Tubbs also coached at Mountain Brook High School in Alabama.
He was tapped to replace Paige Taylor, who resigned following the 2024-25 season after a decade with the Lady Wildcats.
Tubbs knows he has big shoes to fill. Taylor guided Oak Ridge to 10 consecutive district championships.
“No doubt about it — it will be a challenge, and those are huge shoes to fill,” said Tubbs, who had retired after 25 years of coaching.
In addition to his high school coaching career in Alabama, he also served as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level.
His retirement didn’t last long.
“I coached in Birmingham and I coached in Gulf Shores,” Tubbs said. “I coached for 25 years, and I thought that I wanted to retire — and I did, down there.
“That lasted about four months. I coached in Gulf Shores, and I left the beach to come to the mountains because I’m a fly fisherman.”
Tubbs has been married to his wife, Kendall, for nearly 30 years. Their son, Logan, teaches physical education in East Tennessee and shares his father’s passion for fly fishing.
“She’s been through this journey with me and supported me through everything — the high school jobs and the college jobs,” Tubbs said of his wife.
After relocating to the Volunteer State, Tubbs became executive director of the Maryville City Schools Foundation.
He returned to coaching last season and led the Seymour Lady Eagles to a Region 2-AAA semifinal appearance, posting a 19-11 record.
Tubbs, an Alabama sports fan, said he’s been fortunate to work under several great coaches during his career.
One of the most influential was legendary men’s Coach Gene Bartow, who hired Tubbs as an assistant at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Bartow succeeded John Wooden at UCLA and later founded the UAB program.
“I’ve worked for a lot of great coaches,” Tubbs said. “When I was in Birmingham, Gene Bartow brought me in as an assistant, and he really changed my life.”
