The Havre Blue Ponies have named Tommy Brown as the new head girls’ basketball coach. Brown was confirmed as the school’s choice following the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday afternoon. His first full day will be Wed, May 29.
Brown was elevated to head coach after serving as an assistant for Dustin Kraske, now his predecessor. He has also worked with Blue Pony boys’ basketball coach WaLynn Burgess in addition to his track record of both the boys’ and girls’ programs at Havre Middle School. Other accomplishments in the young career of Brown included a recent win at the 2024 Hi-Line Invitational, where he was the victorious coach for the assembled “Class A” boys’s squad, which included Blue Pony standouts Tre Gary and Matt Huse.
New Media Broadcasters had the chance to speak with Brown on the day he was appointed. He said he is grateful for the chance to use his platform as a hometown Havre native and to work with the people who have helped get him this far.
“Let me tell you, it’s a blessing to have this privilege,” Brown said. “For one, I get to continue working with the great people within Havre Public Schools.”
“I get a chance to coach in the community that I grew up in and have grown to love,” Brown continued. “Of course, most importantly, I get to continue working with the wonderful student-athletes at Havre High that I’ve already built connections with and will build new ones with the new ones that come in.”
Brown’s introduction to coaching came from another familiar name in the Havre coaching ranks. He explained more about how the connections in his community gave him the start he was looking for that has since blossomed into what will be a promising future.
“It was kind of funny. I was just talking with Coach (Chris) Mouat, who coaches the Skylights up at Northern, and I was actually taking one of his coaching classes.”
“(Mouat) worked out a deal with WaLynn Burgess to where I started doing some morning workouts and it was kind of part of my grade,” Brown continued. “Once I got started doing that, WaLynn was like, ‘Well, you might as well stick around for the whole season’ and brought me on board.”
The youthfulness of Brown, 23, will be challenged from the jump. He will also be following in the footsteps of a legendary figure in Kraske, who led the Blue Pony girls’ to six state championships in 18 seasons at the helm. Brown used that as motivation when asked about why he should be in charge of the program.
“I really care about our kids,” Brown said. “I’m going to put them first, as always.”
“Like I said, I’ve had the experience within the Blue Pony girls’ basketball program that has known to be a successful program (with a) good track record,” Brown continued. “I’ve seen what that blueprint looks like.”
“I’m going to do my best to continue the standard of our program and the success that we’ve seen,” Brown said.
Find the full Tommy Brown interview HERE
