RIVERSIDE — The nameplate on the office door will stay the same.
Riverside City College announced Kevin Craft as its next football coach on Wednesday.
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Riverside City College football head coach Tom Craft, right and son Kevin Craft, offensive coordinator at Wheelock Stadium in Riverside on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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Riverside City College football head coach Tom Craft, right and son Kevin Craft, offensive coordinator at Wheelock Stadium in Riverside on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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Craft follows his father, Tom Craft, as RCC’s head coach and becomes the program’s fourth coach since 1998.
“I’m honored to follow in my father’s footsteps and lead this incredible program,” said Kevin Craft in a statement. “RCC is a special place and I look forward to continuing our tradition of excellence on and off the field.”
Craft was a state and national offensive player of the year at Mt. San Antonio College and played two seasons at quarterback at UCLA before embarking on a record-setting professional career in France and Japan.
“We are very lucky,” said RCC Vice President Dr. Thomas Cruz-Soto, who led the search. “His expertise as a local, regional, national and global leader of men maintains our RCC Tigers football program as a perennial powerhouse for years to come.”
Following his playing career, Craft returned to Southern California in 2024 and took the offensive coordinator job at Riverside, calling plays alongside his father.
RCC, which had won its second California Community College Athletic Association championship under Tom Craft (2019 and 2023), went on to lead the nation in points and yards for most of the 2024 season.
Already an offense juggernaut in the 3C2A under Tom Craft, RCC averaged 53.9 points, 578.8 yards and 29.8 first downs per game on the way to another National Southern League title last year.
The Tigers (10-2 overall) came up short in the SoCal Regional championship game, losing 37-25 at Mt. SAC after a botched fourth-down play inside the final minute.
Despite the loss, the program has claimed four conference championships over the last six years and advanced to the state playoffs each of the last five seasons.
A member of the San Diego Sports Hall of Fame, Kevin Craft was an all-CIF San Diego Section pick and played at San Diego State before transferring to Mt. SAC. The owner of many of the Mounties’ passing records, he was state and national player of the year after winning the national championship in 2009.
At UCLA, Craft was a two-year starter and still ranks among the Bruins’ all-time leaders in completions and completion percentage.
Professionally, he broke all single-game and season passing records in the the Division 1 Elite Championship League in France before innovating offensive strategies and dominating Japan’s X-League for six years.
He now is the 19th coach in RCC’s history.
Tom Craft retired as the head football coach at RCC in December 2024, after leading the Tigers for 14 seasons. His coaching career spanned 30 years at the junior college level, with a record of 261-78-1.
At RCC, Tom Craft went 146-22, including two state championships and 12 conference titles. He was inducted into the Riverside Sport Hall of Fame in May 2025.
He previously coached at Palomar College and San Diego State.
