Brazos Port Exporters Rebuild Under New Head Coach Justin Velasquez

Two wins in three years. That was the reality facing the Brazos Port Exporters heading into the 2026 season—and the backdrop against which first-year head coach Justin Velasquez began building something different in Freeport.

Velasquez came to Brazos Port with a well-traveled coaching résumé. He played at Mesquite Poteet under head coach Randy Jackson in 2010, later served as offensive coordinator at North Forney under Erick Luster, and held an interim head coaching role at Poteet before joining the Mesquite offensive staff in 2025. He credits those experiences for shaping his approach. "I've had the pleasure of working under some really good head coaches," Velasquez said. "I've just kind of taken some ingredients from each of them and made my own little gumbo."

The emphasis from day one has been structure and punctuality—from the moment players walk out of the locker room. Velasquez wants practice to look professional, and the players have responded. Buying into core values, he says, is what separates this year's group from recent Exporter teams.

A key piece of the rebuild is defensive coordinator Alton Dixon, a former defensive back at Texas A&M in the mid-2000s who has head coaching experience and previous stops at Crockett and his hometown of Lufkin. "He's been a head coach before, so he gets it," Velasquez said. "He asks a lot of them, and he does a really good job translating it from the board to the field."

On offense, Velasquez has leaned on quarterback David Keir and an offensive line he's publicly praised, with a fast-paced attack designed to keep defenses off balance. Heading into the final two games of the season, Brazos Port needs a win—against either La Grange or Bellville—to keep playoff hopes alive.

The buzz in the community around this blue-collar Gulf Coast town may be the clearest sign of progress. For a program that won just twice in the previous three seasons, being in playoff contention with two games left is, as Velasquez put it, uncharted waters.