Eastlake High School named James Moreno as the new boys’ varsity basketball coach May 6 at an announcement event at the school.
Moreno was introduced as head coach by Eastlake High School athletic coordinator Ruben Rodriguez and principal Gilbert Martinez.
“We are excited to have Coach Moreno here at Eastlake,” Rodriguez said. “His stats and accolades speak for themselves, so we knew he was the right candidate for our boys’ basketball team.”
Moreno spent 16 years as the head boys’ basketball coach at Clint High School.
“Eastlake is a great community, and I can’t wait to grow along with it,” Moreno said. “The expectations will definitely be high, and I can’t wait to get to work to set our goals and expectations.”
Moreno led Clint High School to four district titles and seven playoff games from 2016-2020 while in Class 4A. He led the Lions to the regional quarterfinals in 2019 and regional semifinals in 2020.
Moreno hopes to bring a winning program to the Eastlake High School community.
“I plan to bring success early on with basketball camps at the lower levels,” Moreno said. “I believe once we have those camps, it’ll build relationships with and within the players to make them feel excited and motivated to play for Eastlake basketball.
Moreno played college basketball at Tarleton State University and said some of his coaching mentors are famed El Paso coaches, including Bobby Lesley who led Eastwood High School to a state championship in 1976 and Bob Haack who led Santa Teresa High School to a New Mexico state title in 2012.
He is a graduate of the Class of 1988 from Eastwood High School.
