West Point didn’t have to look far to find its next varsity boys basketball coach.

Mason Voce, who has led the junior varsity boys team for the past two seasons, earned a promotion this week and will officially begin his new gig right away.

Principal Heith Yearwood confirmed the hire on Thursday.

“We are glad to have Coach Voce,” Yearwood said. “He has been a great part of our school. He is a fine young coach who has high morals and values that will be valuable to our students. He has been successful at both the middle school and high school levels. I believe his passion and love for the game and for West Point will be displayed through his teams.”

Voce, a 2013 West Point graduate, takes over for Randy Jones, who stepped down earlier this spring following 10 seasons with the Warriors.

“I appreciate Coach Yearwood and Dr. (Wes) Black for giving me the opportunity,” Voce said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach Jones, too. I’ve played for him and coached with him. I’m excited to pick up where he left off. West Point means a lot to me. I take a lot of pride in it, and we’ll try to make the most of it.

“It’s not going to be so much what we do, but how we do it. On the floor, in the community — using this platform of basketball to advance these guys as players and as people.”

Voce won a county tournament title with the Warriors in the 2019-20 season. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as the eighth-grade boys coach, notching a county championship in that position as well.

As for his coaching philosophy, Voce said his teams will “play uptempo and get after it.”

“We’ll play hard. We’ll play with intensity. We’ll take advantage of every opportunity we get,” Voce said. “We’re going to get up into people and play aggressively. We’re not going to flinch. And, if nothing else, we’re going to play our tails off every night.”