A former Mr. Colorado Basketball is taking over at Mullen High School.
The Mustangs named Chris Crosby, the 1996 winner of the award at Chatfield, as its next boys basketball coach. Crosby was previously the head coach at Castle View.
Crosby takes over for Roosevelt Leslie, who coached for three seasons following a five-year tenure by Hall of Fame coach Bob Caton.
From 2007-09 and 2016-22, Crosby served as an assistant coach at Mullen, and the school says his return to Lowell Boulevard “signals continuity and a renewed vision to elevate the program.”
“Coach Crosby is Denver basketball,” Mullen athletic director Melynda Brown said in a statement. “His experience, toughness, and passion for player development make him the perfect fit to lead our boys’ basketball program. He understands the grind — and he understands Mullen. We’re thrilled to welcome him home.”
At Chatfield, Crosby was a star on the Chargers’ 1996 team that fell to Denver East in an 85-80 overtime thriller in the Class 5A title game. Crosby then played at Washington State, where he was an All-Pac-10 guard. He also played professionally overseas and in the NBA Development League.
At Mullen, Crosby will be tasked with elevating a Mustangs program that has not had a winning season since 2021 and has not advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2019. A move down to Class 5A from 6A, which started this past season, should help.
Boys basketball’s lack of recent success — the 2026 season will be the 20th anniversary of the program’s last basketball title, a 5A triumph over Cherry Creek — stands in contrast to the girls, who won the 5A title in 2025. The girls have four titles in the past seven years and eight overall, second all-time behind Eads’ nine.
“I’m incredibly honored to return to Mullen as head coach,” Crosby said in a statement. “This community means everything to me. My goal is to create a culture of toughness, teamwork, and accountability — and to bring pride back to Mustang basketball.”
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