Coeur d'Alene High boys basketball coach resigns after one season

Kent Leiss resigned as Coeur d’Alene High’s boys basketball coach after one season back on the job, ending a second stint that was supposed to bring stability to one of Kootenai County’s most visible athletic programs. Leiss, 62, stepped down in a meeting with school officials Thursday morning and cited philosophical differences with the school’s administration.

The departure matters because Leiss was not a first-time hire trying to make his mark. Coeur d’Alene brought him back on April 26, 2025, after he had coached the Vikings for nearly 10 seasons from 2003 to 2013. He said then that he missed coaching and believed the roster could be good because of returning players. Former Coeur d’Alene assistant John Naccarato also agreed to return as varsity assistant, giving the program a familiar staff around a coach with deep local ties.

Leiss’s second run produced a mixed season on the floor. The Vikings opened 0-1, then got his first win back on Dec. 6, 2025, when Coeur d’Alene beat Moscow 56-36. The team ultimately finished 7-13, according to MaxPreps, after a Feb. 21 loss to Post Falls, and played in the 6A Inland Empire League, where expectations are always high and every coaching change reverberates beyond one winter.

The timing also places Leiss’s exit in the middle of a leadership transition inside the school. Tony Prka became Coeur d’Alene High’s new athletic director and assistant principal for the 2025-26 school year, with the school emphasizing a collaborative, student-focused approach to decision-making. Leiss’s resignation now leaves the Vikings searching again for a coach who can navigate both a competitive league and the demands of a large public-school program.

This was not the first time Leiss’s tenure in Coeur d’Alene ended in conflict. He resigned in 2013 after complaints from parents about his style, which he described as “tough love,” and direct communication with players. His first run with the Vikings finished 140-91, included four trips to state and reached the 2008 state final, making his abrupt departure this time especially notable for a program that had hoped his return would steady the program.