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Reports: WSU to hire former Oregon State coach Trent Bray as new defensive coordinator

EL PASO, TEXAS – DECEMBER 29: Head coach Trent Bray of the Oregon State Beavers looks on during warmups before the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Beavers at Sun Bowl Stadium on December 29, 2023 in El Paso, Texas. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) (Sam Wasson)
By Greg Woods gregw@spokesman.com(509) 459-5587

BOISE – New Washington State coach Kirby Moore has added the first piece of his staff.

WSU is hiring former Oregon State head coach Trent Bray as its new defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports, the first known hire by Moore.

Before getting fired by OSU after an 0-7 start to this season, Bray was the Beavers’ defensive coordinator for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, helping them go 18-8 in that span under head coach Jonathan Smith. A Pullman High graduate, Bray helped OSU rank No. 16 in total defense in 2022 and No. 47 in 2023.

Ryan Clarke of the Oregonian was the first to report the news.

Bray spent the 2018-25 seasons at Oregon State, including stints as linebackers coach , defensive coordinator and head coach, but he’s had other stops too. Bray worked as Arizona State’s linebackers coach from 2010-11, worked the same job at OSU from 2012-14 then went to Nebraska, where he coached linebackers from 2015-17.

After that season, Bray was promoted to interim head coach following the firing of coach Mike Riley. The Huskers later hired Scott Frost and let Bray go.

Bray, who played linebacker at Oregon State from 2002-05, has a myriad of connections to WSU and Pullman. His father, Craig, worked as the Cougars’ secondary coach in 1987-88, then returned to WSU in the same role from 1994-99.

Bray is also linked to Mike Riley, whose nephew is WSU men’s hoops coach David Riley.

Bray went 5-14 as a head coach. He was hired after the 2023 season, which is when Smith left for the same job at Oregon State, and went 5-7 in his debut season. This fall, the Beavers lost their first seven games of the year before school brass fired Bray, who didn’t look ready to be a head coach just yet.

In 2024, Bray led OSU to a surprise win over WSU in Corvallis, where the Beavers eked out a 41-38 win. But a year later, OSU dropped games against Cal, Fresno State, Houston, App State and Wake Forest, leading to his firing.

Could Bray bring over a few Beavers? OSU had a forgettable season this fall, going 2-10, but the team still has plenty of talent. It’s possible a few players from that team end up wearing crimson by next season.