Rock Hill shaped Leon Boulware. Now, he’s at the helm of its football future
Leon Boulware offered a confident sentiment as he walked off campus after his first interview at Rock Hill.
“This is it,” the new Bearcats’ head football coach said to his wife.
That it is.
Boulware, the Rock Hill graduate who was most recently head coach northeast of Columbia at Lugoff-Elgin, felt he put all of his effort into his initial meeting with his alma mater.
And now, he’s ready to take it to the next level.
“This is a great moment,” Boulware said Wednesday morning during an introductory event at the school. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet fully. I’m just excited to be here. Excited to be back home.”
Boulware returns home at Rock Hill
As Boulware has strolled the halls at his alma mater over the past few days, it’s reminded him of the place that shaped him.
Boulware met his wife at Rock Hill High — he has “a full family that’s embedded in the program” — and learned the importance of hard work and pride. Boulware’s teammates always showed up for one another, and he’s ecstatic to share his love for this program with its future.
The new head coach had a number of guests in the crowd at Rock Hill’s gymnasium Wednesday morning. Boulware’s mother, mother-in-law, former coaches, players and mentors were among the spectators, and their support has always helped him.
“We’re getting the belief and buy-in,” Boulware said. “And getting our community back involved and believing in us as well, just showing that we’re gonna come in, put in the effort and the work.”
‘Even more special to come back now and lead our guys’
Boulware understands the potential at Rock Hill better than anyone.
The Bearcats’ football program has four South Carolina state championships, most recently in 2004. Also recently the head coach at Lewisville, Boulware returns to the area where he’s previously played and coached with big ambitions.
Long before this full-circle return to Boulware’s alma mater, he served as an assistant at Lancaster, Nation Ford, Indian Land and Northwestern over the past decade. He’s always wanted to coach in his hometown, and it’s happening in an even bigger way at the school that couldn’t be more special to him.
“Rock Hill — Football City, USA — is one of the more important places in South Carolina when it comes to football,” Boulware said. “To be able to be a part of it as a player, it’s even more special to come back now and lead our guys.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 11:39 AM.
