Moore Little League Parents Say Former Coach Kept Uniforms Cash

Parents of a Moore little league team said their now former coach did them wrong. Parents of members of the Moore youth baseball 10-and-under “Raiders” said former Coach Brandon Koehler has hundreds of dollars of their money. They said they paid Koehler that cash two months ago for league fees and uniforms. 

Their first game is Thursday, and the team has no uniforms to play in. 

Court records show Koehler was charged with embezzlement in Cleveland County four years ago. Last month Oklahoma County charged him with three counts of credit card fraud. 

Moore youth baseball coordinator Matt Purser said it's very hard to get good coaches to volunteer. He said evidence is mounting against Koehler, who Purser said has blown off scheduled meetings during the past week. “I've had a couple meetings scheduled with him. He's been out of town or having a baby, all sorts of things.” 

Thelma Diaz is a parent of one of the Raiders' players. She said she paid Koehler more than $150 in league fees and for a uniform for her son. “They're just excuses,” she said. “We've tried to communicate with him.” 

Koehler's wife told News 9 by phone Monday night that her husband quit as coach a week ago, after learning assistant coach Matt Grant had been arrested for pointing a gun at someone. Moore police said there is no record of that. 

Grant said Koehler duped everyone. “I thought he was an upstanding guy. He volunteered to coach, and I didn't think nothing [sic] of it. And then stuff didn't seem right, so we just started digging into to him, and found out he's not a very nice guy.” 

Coordinator Matt Purser said after meeting with league officials Monday night, it appeared Koehler did some of the same things to another team in the Moore four-and-under division. Purser said the league will “get to the bottom of it.”