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Richland High School Athletic Director, Adrian Ochoa, announced Wednesday that Will Burghardt has been selected as the 30th head coach in Bomber Basketball history. Burghardt, 27, previously held the Head Coach position at Newport (OR) and becomes only the 7th Head Coach of the Bombers in the last 80 seasons and youngest in Richland history.
Hired as the Head Coach of the Newport Cubs in September 2023, Burghardt took over a program that had not seen the playoffs in the previous four seasons. In his first season, the Cubs finished 14-10 and returned to the OSAA 4A playoffs and would remain in the playoffs in all 3 of his campaigns. Burghardt finished his stay at Newport with a 49-24 record in 3 seasons and a 19-5 record in the 2025-26 season, an Oregon West Conference title, a #2 OSAA ranking and Coach of the Year Honors.
Burghardt is no stranger to winning high school basketball programs in Washington State. A graduate of Mark Morris High School Class of 2017, he played under legendary Head Coach Bill Bakamus. Bakamus finished his career with 693 victories and 26 league titles over 41 seasons, 32 of which were with the Monarchs. In Burghardt’s four seasons at Mark Morris, the Monarchs tallied 80 victories and four straight WIAA 2A State Tournament berths. About Burghardt, Coach Bakamus was quoted in 2017 as saying, “He’s probably the most humble young man I’ve been associated with. He has a tremendous basketball IQ. He’s dedicated, honest and a great person all-around.”
During all four seasons as a Monarch, Burghardt lettered in both football and basketball in addition to two letters in baseball. In his junior and senior seasons, he was named back-to-back GSHL MVP in 2016 and 2017 after ascending the Mark Morris all-time records list to 4th in points and assists while climbing to 2nd in three-point field goal percentage. Burghardt averaged 21.8 points per game during his senior season and was 54% from three-point range, helping him earn All-State honors in 2017.
After graduation from Mark Morris, Burghardt played one season at Hawaii-Hilo playing in 21 games during the 2017-18 season before enrolling at Linfield College and becoming a leader on the court for three seasons for the Wildcats. He started 42 of 59 games, helping propel Linfield to 47 wins in 3 seasons while averaging 10.9 points per game (13.9 in his senior season). Will graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Activity and Fitness Studies. He also holds a Masters of Science in Kinesiology from Concordia University – Chicago. Will finished his playing career at Washington State University in 2022 under Kyle Smith during the Cougars’ best season since 2007 finishing in the National Invitational Tournament Semifinals.
Will is married to 2019 Richland High School graduate Sydnee (Hay) Burghardt who played Soccer and ran Track during her time as a Bomber.