Sachse head boys’ basketball coach Zachary Mikesell is leaving the program after seven seasons at the helm and has accepted the same position with Prosper Richland. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media

By David Wolman

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The appeal of starting a brand-new program is what drove Zachary Mikesell to ultimately leave Sachse after seven successful seasons as Mustangs’ head boys’ basketball coach for the newest high school in Prosper ISD, Richland. But he admitted that it wasn’t an easy decision. 

When Mikesell was faced with making the tough decision to either stay at Sachse or be the first head coach in the history of the Prosper Richland boys’ basketball team, he took a lot of time to think about all of the accomplishments that the Mustangs made during his seven seasons as the helm.

When he initially accepted the position at Sachse in 2018, he felt that he was still a big question mark. He nor no one else in the school district wasn’t sure of the amount of success that he was going to have there, especially after previously serving as an assistant coach for fellow Garland ISD school, Lakeview Centennial. 

But what followed was some of the best seasons in program history. 

Mikesell guided the Mustangs to the playoffs in six of the seven seasons that he was in charge of the program – the only time that Sachse fell short of the postseason came during the COVID-19 season in 2020-21 when the Mustangs had to play eight district games over a span of nine days. He also led Sachse to its only two playoff wins in school history.

“Honestly, it was such a great experience,” he said. “They took a chance on me. I took over a team that had two wins in the previous season. We turned it around and won 18 games in year one. I just felt like we never looked back. 

“We changed the culture. We changed the vibe. We learned how to work really hard and compete. I couldn’t be prouder of our team. It’s hard to leave something to where you had that much of a turnaround.”

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