Knoxville Catholic High School announced March 12 that Travis Mains will take the reins as the next head basketball coach of the Fighting Irish boys basketball program.
Mr. Mains has been the head varsity girls basketball coach at Knoxville Catholic since 2020 and has taken the Lady Irish to the state tournament five years straight, winning the state title in 2023 and 2024.
KCHS has begun a search for a new coach for the Lady Irish.
Mr. Mains hails from Gray, Tenn. He coached at his alma mater, Daniel Boone High School, from 2013-18, where he led the girls varsity team to its first-ever Class AAA state-tournament appearance. He compiled an overall record of 133-63. In his last season, the Blazers finished with a record of 30-5.
He then stepped away to coach his daughter Sydney’s travel basketball team. Mr. Mains’ experience also includes time as an assistant for the boys programs at Sullivan South and Daniel Boone high schools.
Mr. Mains and wife Missey both played basketball at King University in Bristol, Tenn., where Mr. Mains led his team to the NAIA national tournament in 1998. He finished his playing career at King ranking 11th all-time in scoring and amassed more than 500 rebounds. He was also an honorable-mention All-American in his final season with the Tornados.
At KCHS, Mr. Mains has compiled an overall record of 102-59, also including a state-runner-up finish in 2021 and state-semifinal appearances in 2022 and 2025. His overall coaching record is 235-112.
Mr. Mains teaches business and leadership classes at Knoxville Catholic. He has extensive experience in the corporate world in the areas of banking and logistics and has served as CFO in the commercial-trucking industry. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at King.