Brandywine alumnus and current girls basketball coach Josh Hood has been offered an opportunity to work as an assistant principal at the Brandywine Middle/Senior High School.

The 1996 Brandywine grad has spent the past 10 years as a teacher in Cassopolis, but said he’s always been a Brandywine Bobcat at heart.

“Cassopolis has been great to me… but I always knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to come back to Brandywine because that’s home,” said Hood, who was offered the job Monday.

Supt. John Jarpe said Hood, 37, was selected from a pool of four finalists.

All finalists were interviewed before a hiring committee that included school administrators, a teacher, board member and parent.

“I am looking forward to having Josh onboard to help lead Brandywine,” Jarpe said. “He demonstrated an outstanding capability, background and strengths during the interview process.”

Jarpe said the hire won’t be official unless it is approved by the Brandywine Community Schools Board of Education. The board is expected to vote on the hire Monday.

Hood will remain coach of the Brandywine girls basketball team he has led for the past six years.

“Coaching is very important to me,” said Hood, adding that being assistant principal would take priority over basketball. “The great thing about the program we have at Brandywine is I have phenomenal assistant coaches… if I have meetings I have to attend to while practice is going on I have a great staff that is very capable of running practice.”

Jarpe said in the past Brandywine has allowed administrators to coach just one sport a year.

“We will try this and I trust it will work,” Jarpe said.

Hood graduated from Western Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in education and received a master’s degree in administration from Ferris State University.

Hood said this job is not a stepping stone and that he plans to remain at Brandywine for the rest of his career.

“I can’t wait to get started,” he said.