"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
Entering his 39th year at East Texas Baptist University, Kent Reeves is the Senior Associate Athletic Director and been a part of the athletic program from its early NAIA days to a strong member in NCAA Division III.
Reeves arrived at ETBU as women’s basketball coach in 1987. When he decided to step down as basketball coach following the 1996-97 season, Reeves had directed the Lady Tigers to an average of 20 wins per season in his 10 years as coach. He finished with 206 wins and his teams made nine NAIA postseason appearances.
Reeves, who remains the winningest coach in women's basketball at ETBU, stepped down in 1997 to become the ETBU athletic director, and in the same year started the ETBU softball program as head coach. The softball program has become one of the best in the nation annually.
Under Reeves’ 18-years of guidance as the AD, the department grew from just five sports in 1997 to 14 in 2014. ETBU athletics programs have consistently competed for championships in the American Southwest Conference, with 14 conference titles and 18 ASC division titles since joining the Division III ranks in 1998-99. ETBU also claimed the university’s first NCAA national championship in 2010.
As softball coach from 1998-2000, Reeves built the program from scratch and culminated with the University's first ASC championship in 2000, the first year they competed in the ASC. He assumed AD-only duties after that season but returned to the dugout in a pinch for the 2004 season. That year, the Tigers posted a then program-record 41 wins. He then took another year off before returning for the 2006-07 seasons, finishing with 183 wins over six seasons only behind current head coach Janae Shirley.
In the Fall of 2024 Kent Reeves was inducted into the ETBU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Reeves is active in the Marshall community, serving in the Marshall Lions Club as well as being a deacon at Central Baptist Church. He and his wife Mary Beth have two daughters: Kendra, who is married to Austin Skipworth, and Taylor, a graduate of Baylor University who was married in August 2013. He also has two grand daughters and one grandson.