Andress officially names Eugene Costello head basketball coach

EL PASO, Texas - The question might not be whether or not Eugene Costello was going to be the Andress head boys' basketball coach, but rather why it took so long to officially give him the job.

EPISD officially removed Costello's interim coaching tag on Thursday, making the 41-year old Costello the full-time head coach of the Eagles.

Costello replaces the late Jim Forbes, who passed away in January after complications from COVID-19. Forbes was the only coach in El Paso to take two different high schools to the UIL Texas State Final Four (Riverside, Andress).

A longtime Forbes assistant at Andress, Costello served as interim coach when Forbes began a medical leave in December and finished out the season when Forbes passed away.

Under Costello's watch, the Eagles won a Bi-District Championship in the state playoffs before losing a hard-fought game to Canyon Randall 44-41 in the Area Championship.

A good player in his day, Costello played for the UTEP Miners from 2000-2002 where he averaged 13.7 points.