Newberg has hired Kevin Hastin as football coach.
Hastin spent the past five seasons as the coach at Troy High School in Fullerton, Calif. He compiled a 33-21 record, leading Troy to the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoffs four times.
He replaces T.J. Tomlin, who resigned after last season. Tomlin went 20-50 in seven seasons at Newberg, including 4-7 last year, when the No. 30 seed Tigers stunned No. 3 South Medford 26-23 in the Class 6A first round for their first playoff win in 16 years.
Hastin said the main attraction of the Newberg job is the community.
“I’m coming from more of a commuter school,” Hastin said. “We have a magnet program at Troy where we attract kids from all over Orange County, so it doesn’t have the kind of close-knit community. That’s something I was looking for, and Newberg definitely has that.”
If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because Hastin’s uncle and cousin – Craig and Rob Hastin – were head coaches at Tualatin. Kevin Hastin grew up in Southern California and played linebacker at Portland State from 2000 to 2002.
Hastin was the defensive coordinator at Troy for eight seasons before taking over as coach in 2012. He modified the wing-T offense to run it out of the pistol formation and plans to install it at Newberg, which ran the veer under Tomlin.
Hastin is jumping into the Three Rivers League, widely regarded as the state’s best league. Since joining the Three Rivers in 2014, Newberg has gone 5-16 in league games. The Tigers haven’t had a winning record since 2009.
“I’m definitely aware of the Three Rivers League and how tough it is, and the fact that the veer offense gave Newberg an advantage when facing some of those powerhouses,” he said.
“That’s kind of the same thing that I believe the wing-T has given Troy over the last 10 to 15 years. We have monsters in our league. I’m used to facing big programs like that.”
Hastin, 37, and his wife Nicole, an English teacher at Troy, will move with their daughters, ages 7 and 5. He said he isn’t worried about trading the sunny California weather for Northwest rain.
“The summers are beautiful, I do know that,” he said. “I’m definitely an outdoors guy, so I’m excited for the lifestyle. The weather really doesn’t bother me at all. We’ll adjust fine to the weather. It’ll be new for my wife and daughters, but I’ll be back in my element.”
-- Jerry Ulmer
julmer@oregonian.com
503-816-7323
@jerryulmer