Desert Mountain baseball coach Bryan Rice resigned on Thursday, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
Neither source knew specific reasons behind Rice's resignation.
Neither Rice nor Desert Mountain athletic director Steve Harris immediately returned messages seeking comment.
Rice has been at Desert Mountain since the school opened 17 years ago, and this is was his 12th year as the team’s coach. The Wolves finished 21-11 overall this season, including 13-5 in power point games this season in Division I. As a No. 7 seed, Desert Mountain earned a first-round bye and reached the double elimination portion of the tournament by beating Goodyear Millennium, but was eliminated after losing to Chaparral (3-2) and Mesquite (5-4).
The past year, however, hasn't been without controversy, most of which surrounded the departure of Dylan Cozens from the baseball team (and the school) in spring 2011, and subsequent transfer to Chaparral. After an initial ruling that Cozens would have to sit out 365 days from when he enrolled last spring, he was declared eligible by the AIA for all of the 2012 season at Chaparral.
The AIA is also reportedly looking into whether Desert Mountain used youth camps hosted by the school as a possible recruiting tool.
Rice led the Wolves to then-5A Division II championship game appearances in 2010 and 2007, along with four other semifinals appearances (2000, 2003, 2004, 2008) and three Desert Valley Region championships (2011, 2009, 2003). The Wolves reached the state tournament from 1998-2000 and every year since 2003.
Mark Heller is the East Valley Tribune sports editor. He can be reached at mheller@evtrib.com or (480) 898-6576.
