Washington hires local standout Alex Boyd as boys basketball coach

Washington chose continuity over a clean break, naming Alex Boyd as its next boys basketball coach and putting a former Hatchet back in charge of a program built on seven state championships.

The Washington Community Schools board approved Boyd on April 16, a move that followed Bo Burkhart’s resignation on Jan. 27 after a 5-9 start in his first season. Boyd is a Washington native, a former multi-sport standout at the school and, in a rare twist for a tradition-rich job, only the second former Washington player ever chosen to lead the boys program.

Boyd already had a season on the varsity bench behind him. During the 2025-26 campaign, he served as a varsity assistant and handled scouting, film study, practice planning and the day-to-day work that can shape how fast a team settles in. Before that, he coached Washington Junior High boys basketball from 2022 to 2025 and posted a 50-15 record, giving him a track record of developing players before they reached the high school level.

That background is part of why Washington viewed him as more than a symbolic hire. District officials said Boyd’s local roots, leadership experience and familiarity with the community made him a strong fit, and athletic director Larry Cochren said Boyd had learned from Gene Miiller and Brandt Schuckman. Cochren also pointed to Boyd’s passion for Hatchet basketball and his ability to relate to players, along with the school’s desire to keep the current staff in place and continue developing student-athletes.

Boyd’s credentials extend beyond the gym. The district said he earned a bachelor of science in sports management from the University of Southern Indiana in 2025, with an emphasis in facility management and athletic administration. It also said he is an IHSAA-certified official and a member of the Southwest Indiana Officials Association. At Washington, he was a four-year athlete in basketball and golf and served as class president, another sign of how tightly his story is woven into the school’s identity.

The program he inherits carries a heavy standard. Washington’s seven boys basketball state titles tie Marion for second on the all-time IHSAA list, behind Muncie Central’s eight. The Hatchets’ most recent championship came in 2011, when Miiller completed a run that included titles in 2008, 2010 and 2011. Miiller later retired after a 50-year career with 762 wins and 383 losses, leaving Boyd to follow one of the most decorated figures in Indiana high school basketball.

For Washington, the hire was about more than replacing a coach. It was a choice to trust someone who already knows the program’s expectations, its people and its history, with the hope that familiarity can shorten the path back to contention.