Gulfport’s new athletic director is leaving a different Coast district for the job
The Gulfport School District has a new athletic director.
The district announced the approval of Matt Walters on Wednesday, and will take over the position for Admirals sports on June 1.
Waters is currently the athletic director at Vancleave.
Walters was approved by the School District Board of Trustees on Monday and will officially take over the position on June 1.
He replaces Bryan Caldwell, who served in the Gulfport School District for 30 years.
Walters will be returning to an area that brings him back to where he was born.
“Gulfport is home for me,” Walters told the Sun Herald. “I was born there, I grew up in Bayou View Elementary ... It’s just an opportunity for me to go back and be at a place where I’ve always wanted to be at.”
The school is among the biggest on the Coast and already has plans to wrap up upgrades to the baseball and softball facilities this spring.
“I think Gulfport is a special place,” Walters said. “I think they have every piece of the recipe necessary to be the best high school in the state when it comes to athletics. I know they’ve done some great things, I just hope I can come in and build on that.”
Among the goals Walters has for Gulfport is to win the MHSAA All-Sports Award and win it multiple times. The Admirals finished seventh for the award in 2021. Madison Central took home the prize after winning five state titles.
He also wants to see Gulfport football be the first 6A school in South Mississippi to win a state championship.
Walters arrives after leading the Vancleave athletic department for seven years. He has experience coaching middle school and high school athletics in Florida, Missouri and Mississippi.
Caldwell enters retirement this summer but has not ruled out a return to coaching, declaring himself to the Sun Herald a “free agent.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 10:15 AM.
