Steve Stokes tapped to lead Carondelet sports program as director of athletics
CONCORD, CA (Nov. 21, 2023) — Carondelet this month announced that Steve Stokes is the new director of athletics at the all-girls school in Concord.
He comes to Carondelet after previous stints as athletic director at New Roads School in Santa Monica, Providence School in Santa Barbara and the Boys & Girls Club in Simi Valley. He was recently recognized by the CIF Southern Section as an MVP Athletics Director in the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.
He also worked in the Athletics Compliance Department at the University of California Santa Barbara where he helped track NCAA Division I student-athletes eligibility and financial aid for the 20 sports offered while monitoring recruiting activity for all potential student-athletes.
Stokes has spent 17 years as a head basketball coach and was a seven-time league coach of the year, leading his teams to six league championships and two CIF championship finals.
“We were impressed by Steve’s commitment to increase opportunities and access for women to compete at high levels of sport in his past work. We are excited for him to continue that passion at Carondelet,” said school president Jessica Mix.
Jennifer Reinwald, Carondelet VP of student life and mission, added, “Steve was consistently our top candidate from the first interview through the entire extensive vetting process. His communication and people skills, significant experience as an athletics director and his ability to lead teams and shape student-athletes were top qualities that we were looking for in our next AD candidate.”
Stokes takes over a highly successful athletic program at the Concord school. Carondelet sponsors 36 teams in 18 sports with over half the student body taking part while those student athletes maintain an average GPA of 3.67, according to school records.
In Carondelet’s 58 years, the school has won 63 North Coast Section team and 143 league championships, 15 national cheer and dance championships, seven Northern California team titles, three state team and three individual state championships, two national team championships and one national individual title.
Stokes succeeds Piper Brewster, who served in the job the past two years before returning this summer to her collegiate athletics administration career as Associate Commissioner of Governance/ SWA position in the PacWest Conference. Since long-time Carondelet AD Gleam Green retired in the spring of 2015 Stokes is the sixth person to hold the position.
Stokes says one of the things that drew him to Carondelet is that “the incredible memories, moments and experiences the Carondelet student-athletes have are a significant part of their journey to set them up for success in life. It is special to be a part of the Carondelet community,” said Stokes. “And with two young daughters, developing greater opportunities for women is both a professional and personal commitment.
“I am looking forward to working closely with our coaches, the athletics department and everyone on campus striving together to support our teams and student-athletes in reaching their goals.”
He earned a Master of Arts, Coaching and Athletics Administration degree Summa Cum Laude from Concordia University in Irvine and a Bachelor of Arts, Kinesiology from California State University Dominguez Hills.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.