Brandon Richards enters his second season as a full-time assistant coach for Baylor track & field after 10 as volunteer assistant, where he coaches the Bears’ men’s and women’s pole vaulters.
During his time in Waco, Richards has seen seven All-America honors in the pole vault. He coached Baylor legend Annie Rhodes to the All-America double in the 2017 indoor and outdoor seasons, and did the same for freshman phenom KC Lightfoot during the 2019 indoor and outdoor campaigns. Lightfoot repeated as indoor All-American in 2020, and Tuesdi Tidwell achieved her first All-America award in the shortened 2020 season. Senior Ben Conacher jumped to the outdoor All-America podium in the 2023 championships.
Richards coached freshmen duo of Molly Haywood and Alencia Lentz to new heights in the 2024 season. In the pole vault, Lentz and Haywood became the first duo from the same school in Big 12 history to split the indoor and outdoor conference pole vault titles as freshmen. Lentz tied the indoor program record with her conference title jump at 14-9. During the outdoor season, Haywood earned the Big 12 title at 14-5.5 and All-American honors with a 5th place finish at the NCAA Championships. Haywood went on to compete at the U20 World Championships, winning gold with a personal best mark at 14-8.
In the 2021 indoor season, Richards coached Lightfoot to a 6-0m jump, a Big 12 Championship and a NCAA Championship. Lightfoot left Baylor to professionally train and shortly after finished tied at forth place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Richards’ pupils have re-written the school record books, as his athletes hold three of the four Baylor pole vault records. Rhodes holds the women’s outdoor school record (15-1.5), Tidwell has the women’s indoor record (14-9), and Lightfoot holds the men’s indoor record at 18-7.5.
Richards and his wife, Tammy, reside in China Spring and have two children. Their son Riley was a pole vaulter at Baylor and their daughter Kendall graduated from China Spring High School.
