Central-Phenix City boys basketball coach Charles Burkett has taken the head coaching position at Tift County in Tifton, Ga.

The former Hoover High School coach, who won a state title there in 2015, said he is taking his Alabama state retirement after putting in 25 years as a head coach. Burkett spent six years at Saks, 14 years at Hoover, one season at Athens and four at Central. He took his teams to the AHSAA state tournament final four at least once at every stop except Athens.

“It’s Year 25 for me,” Burkett said. “I committed when I signed here to at least four years. At that point, I was going to go year-to-year. Then, this situation came up. The time is now. I’m retiring in the state and moving over to Georgia and starting on the second one.”

In a release on the Tift County High School website, the school principal praised the new coach.

“The students of Tift County High School, both athletes and non-athletes, will see a positive impact from coach Burkett walking our halls,” said Jennifer Johnson. “He has high expectations for students and believes in accountability and fairness.”

Burkett – who is moving from the Red Devils at Central to the Blue Devils in Georgia – said Tift County, which is in state’s largest classification with an enrollment of around 2,200 students, has had success on the court in the past.

“They won the state championship in ‘14 and ‘17,” he said, “but nothing too much after that. The superintendent and principal – the whole administration – were just outstanding. I think they want to get back to where they were and they are trying to do everything they can to do that. I have a passion for doing the exact same thing.”

Burkett said he was headed to meet with his new team on Friday and will being his new job May 1.

“We’ll have a candid conversation as far as my expectations and the experience I’m bringing with me,” he said. “The nature of this business is you want to make sure you never underachieve. That’s what drives me. I’m always working to put myself in this position to succeed and to win a championship.

“The standard will be high,” Burkett said. “At the same time, everything is a process. We did it three of the last four years here. It’s going to be all fresh there.”

Burkett will take a 522-228 career record with him to Georgia. A 2013 inductee into the Jacksonville State University Sports Hall of Fame, Burkett was the 15th player in Jax State history to score 1,000 points, finishing with 1,317 in three seasons. He was Gulf South Conference Player of the Year as a senior in 1991-92 after averaging 18.4 points and 10 rebounds a game. The two-time All-GSC selection helped the Gamecocks to two league championships and two berths in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight under legendary coach Bill Jones.

“He is my mentor,” Burkett said of Jones, “and the foundation of every fiber of my being in this sport.”

Burkett, who played professionally overseas, was an assistant for three seasons under Jones before taking the job at Saks. He led the Wildcats to the AHSAA final four in 2005 and 2006, when Saks lost in overtime in the championship game to Hillcrest-Evergreen.

At Hoover, the Bucs made the final four in 2012, 2015 and 2016. Hoover lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Carver-Montgomery in 2012 and in overtime to eventual champ McGill-Toolen in 2016. Hoover won the championship in 2015, beating Mountain Brook 50-43.

At Central-Phenix City, where he replaced Bobby Wright when he retired after 32 years, Burkett took the Red Devils to the final four in 2023, 2024 and 2025 – where he lost in the finals to his former team in ‘23 and again to Hoover in the semifinals the next two seasons.