Grace Community Coach Leo Scott talks with his team during a timeout in the Lady Cougars volleyball match with Tyler High in 2023. (Phil Hicks/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Tyler Legacy High School didn’t have to go far to find its new head volleyball coach.

Leo Scott, who has spent the past nine seasons at Grace Community School here in Tyler, will now lead the Lady Raiders.

“Just the opportunity,” Scott said. “When I heard it was open and they reached out, it’s not often you get a chance to coach teams with this much talent and have this much capability to succeed.

“I told (the team) that I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t believe that they could succeed,” Scott said. “I know there’s a tough district, and there are teams they haven’t taken sets from in a while, and I believe that we can not only take sets, but I believe we can win those whole matches and cause some damage.”

Legacy is in District 10-6A with Rockwall, Rockwall-Heath, Royse City, Longview, Forney and North Forney.

The Lady Raiders, who last made the playoffs in 2021, finished the 2024 season with an overall record of 17-22 and 2-10 in district play. The last time the Lady Raiders advanced in the volleyball playoffs was in 2007.

“It’s going to take commitment and a bit of a culture thing of we can do it,” Scott said. “As long as we believe we can, I believe that we can.

“I believe we can be a little fast. I think we can be a little more disciplined in certain areas. We started a little bit of that (Tuesday), and we’ll see how the girls react to it.”

Scott has a career record of 210-97 and led Grace to a 16-7 record this past season.

“I can’t say enough about how grateful I was for Grace and what they did for me, bringing me to Tyler,” Scott said. “I can’t say enough about how much I love those kids, my fellow coaches and the people I worked for. I have nothing but good things to say about Grace.”

Before coaching at Grace, Scott was the head coach at Knights Volleyball Academy in Plano.

“We are excited to welcome Coach Scott as the next head volleyball coach at Tyler Legacy,” Tyler ISD athletic director Greg Priest said. “His success at the high school and club level speaks for itself. He has a great reputation in East Texas, which makes him a perfect fit for the position.”