During the closed session of the May school board meeting, the Warren County R-III School Board voted to hire Kevin Carr as the next boys basketball coach at Warrenton High School.

Carr comes to Warren County from California, Mo., where he guided the girls’ program. The Pintos finished 17-11 last season.

Carr, who is certified to teach Business and Marketing, will teach dual credit and apprenticeship programs at Warrenton, beginning in the 2026-27 school year.

On the court, Carr comes to Warren County after stops in Meadville, Smith-Cotton, Clinton and California.

“I’m from Washington,” said Carr, who graduated from Borgia. “I know the area very well. I used to come up and play golf in Warrenton all the time.”

Carr will take the reins of a Warrenton program whose varsity finished 9-18 one season ago.

“With what I’ve seen and a good summer of work, we’re going to be competitive every night,” Carr said. “I know this summer, our first shootout, is probably going to be as ugly as can be. We’re going to be going through a new system and an adjustment on how I would like to see them play.”

In addition to the Central Methodist team camp and the Holt summer league, Carr aims for the players in the program to hit the ground running this summer.

“I want to have two teams, varsity and junior varsity, or however you want to look at it,” Carr said. “I want us to go out and see teams we wouldn’t normally see, unless we were in a deep postseason run.”

Warrenton athletics director Andrew Arnette said that replacing a large group of seniors will be no small feat.

Warrenton was led last season by all-conference players and graduating seniors Deadrick Forrest and Brodey Meier.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome Coach Carr to the Warrior family,” Arnette said. “Rebuilding after graduating a talented 2026 class is no small task, but Coach Carr’s experience and highly organized approach make him the ideal leader for this transition. From our first meeting, he presented a plan that extends beyond the high school gym and into our new youth program. His commitment to clear communication and a fast-paced, up-tempo style of play will define a new identity for Warrenton Basketball for years to come.”

Carr said that he’s ready to bring some fast-paced basketball to Warren County.

The coach said that his philosophy is to get things moving.

“Teams really don’t slow things down and run things out of half-court sets,” Carr said. “I think that if you can have a rebounder have the ability to take four or five dribbles and be his own outlet to get (the fastbreak) going, that will only help you.”

The coach added that he’ll primarily have his teams ready to play man-to-man against whoever they face.

It will benefit the Warriors in the long run, he said.

“You can run man-to-man against a weaker team and it’s going to go well,” Carr said. “We want to go out and run it against everybody. The tougher teams will (challenge you).”

While his in-game philosophy is one he’s ready to instill in the Warriors, the coach aims to build a culture that benefits the program as a whole.

It’s all a part of the five-year plan he laid out for district officials during his interview.

“I really think that, year one, double-digit wins should be a goal,” Carr said. “I think we should aim to compete to (immediately) be in the top half of our conference. The great thing about Missouri is that (the postseason configuration) allows teams to (improve throughout the regular season in preparation).”

R-III Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith said that he, for one, is excited to welcome Carr to Warrenton.

“I’m excited about it,” said Klinginsmith of the hire. “He has a good track record coming from California. I think he’ll do a good job for us. We’re happy to be moving forward.”

Carr said he expects to meet with players in the program sometime next week.