Camas High School is turning to a familiar face to lead its girls basketball program.
Brian Witherspoon, who served as interim head coach of the Camas boys team during the 2024-25 season, was hired as the Papermakers’ girls basketball head coach, athletic director Stephen Baranowski confirmed Thursday.
Witherspoon is trading places with Scott Thompson, who took over as the Camas boys head coach in April after seven years leading the girls program.
“We are excited to have Brian Witherspoon take the helm of our girls basketball program,” Baranowski said in an email. “Brian has a great track record of leading basketball programs in Clark County, and he is looking forward to this new challenge on the girls side. As a counselor and coach in our building, Brian builds great relationships with kids and will be a great fit for this role.”
A former head coach at Evergreen, Witherspoon joined Camas’ staff in 2017, serving as an assistant and JV head coach in the boys program.
Then, just days before the 2024-25 season began in November, Ryan Josephson’s resignation as head coach prompted the school to promote Witherspoon to lead the Papermakers on an interim basis.
Camas didn’t skip a beat with Witherspoon at the helm. The Papermakers won a single-season program record 22 games, repeated as 4A Greater St. Helens League champions and placed sixth at the Class 4A state tournament for the second time in three years.
After the season, however, Thompson left the Camas girls program after leading the Papermakers to back-to-back 4A state championship games, including the program’s first state title in 2024.
Thompson’s jump to the Camas boys program opened another door for Witherspoon to apply and interview for the Camas girls gig.
Witherspoon said he wanted to continue working as a head coach after his experience this past season. Witherspoon also had conversations about the girls program with Thompson and assistant coach Lisa Schneider, both of whom spoke highly of the group returning next season.
“I think the biggest motivator for me to apply were the returning girls,” Witherspoon said. “I coach a few of the girls right now with (Camas) track and they were really excited about my interest. I enjoyed watching them compete during the season. I loved the energy and enthusiasm.”
It was an unusual trade in the same athletic program, though the school wanted to retain both coaches to lead their basketball programs.
“While it was never in the plans to have coaches switch the programs they were part of, it became clear going through the hiring processes that we had two great candidates to fill each of our open positions respectively,” Baranowski said.
Tim Martinez contributed reporting to this story.
