Former B-C soccer coach finds landing spot in Midlands

Kevin Heise wasn’t out of a job long.

The former Brookland-Cayce soccer coach, who resigned last month, will be named the new boys soccer coach at Gray Collegiate on Tuesday. Heise’s wife, Emily, will be named the girls coach at the school.

Gray Collegiate wouldn’t comment on the potential news but a school release lists a press conference scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday to announce some new coaching hires at the school.

Heise replaces Keith McCawley and is one of the winningest boys’ soccer coaches in state history. He has 454 victories since taking over the Bearcats’ program in 1991. B-C has won three lower state championships and 15 region titles.

Heise is a two-time South Carolina Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year. He also began the Nike Palmetto Cup, which is one of the top soccer tournaments in the state and held during spring break each year.

Heise was placed on administrative Feb. 10 for a classroom incident in which he gave an impromptu speech to two students. The incident was recorded by a student in the class. During the speech, Heise also made comments about B-C athletics director Rusty Charpia, who is also the school’s football coach.

Neither Heise nor B-C administration would comment about the incident or the punishment. In a text message on April 21, he said he resigned to pursue other opportunities.

Robby Setzler coached in Heise’s absence this year. The Bearcats won the Region 5-3A title and made it to the third round of the playoffs before losing to Bluffton.

Emily Heise takes over for Robert Hunter and is 33-14-4 in her second year as B-C’s girls heads coach after being an assistant for seven years. The Bearcats won the Region 5-3A title this year and play for the Class 3A Lower State championship Monday against Bishop England.

Emily Heise was a standout player at B-C and member of the school’s state title team in 2005.

Gray Collegiate boys and girls soccer teams made the postseason in their first year of eligibility after transitioning into South Carolina High School League. The Gray girls made it to the second round before losing to Saluda.

In addition to the soccer hires, David Golden will be named Gray’s new girls basketball coach. He replaces Anthony Toney. The War Eagles made it to the second round of the playoffs before losing to Andrew Jackson.

This story was originally published May 8, 2017 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Former B-C soccer coach finds landing spot in Midlands."