Oklahoma HS girls basketball carousel: Chad Thrailkill takes over at Bethany

After one season as Norman’s girls basketball coach, Chad Thrailkill is on the move as he’ll take over at Bethany in the same role, the school announced Wednesday.

Thrailkill led Norman to an 8-16 record this past year following a four-season stint at Community Christian in which he led the Royals to Class 3A state tournament appearances in 2024 and 2025, their first two in program history.

“Bethany Public Schools is pleased to announce the hiring of Chad Thrailkill as the new head women's basketball coach!,” the school said in a social media post. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the court and we are excited to see what lies ahead.”

Thrailkill was an assistant under Sherri Coale at both Norman High in the 1990s and later at OU.

Between those stops, he led Westmoore to the Class 6A state title in 1999.

Thrailkill was the OU women’s director of basketball operations for two years before becoming an assistant in 2004 and then leaving the program in 2019.

He will now take over the spot vacated by Eric Sailer, who led Bethany to its first two girls basketball state titles in 2023 and 2024.

Meanwhile, Norman will have a coaching search for the second straight year. Prior to Thrailkill, Frankie Parks led the Tigers from 2021-25 before leaving the school for an assistant position at Southern Nazarene University.

Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at or on Twitter at . Sign up for to access more high school coverage. Support Nick's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a .