New Bern High School

New Bern High School
Location
4200 Academic Drive New Bern, North Carolina 28562 United States
Coordinates	35°06′02″N77°06′55″W / 35.1005°N 77.1152°W / 35.1005; -77.1152
Information
Type	Public
Motto	Home of Scholars and Champions
School district	Craven County Schools
CEEB code	342882
Teaching staff	88.83 (FTE) [1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,632 (2023-2024) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	18.37 [1]
Color(s)	Red, white and black
Athletics conference	Eastern 3A/4A
Team name	Bears
Communities served	New Bern, Trent Woods, James City, Brices Creek, River Bend
Feeder schools	H.J. MacDonald Middle School, Grover C. Fields Middle School
Website	cravenk12.org/NBH

New Bern High School is a high school in New Bern, North Carolina. The student population is approximately 1,700, and there are 165 faculty and staff members. ^[2] The student-teacher ratio is approximately 14:1.

Sports

Athletic teams overview

The sports program consists of American football, boys' and girls' soccer, boys' and girls' lacrosse, swimming, track and field, indoor track, cross country, boys' and girls' basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, wrestling and cheerleading.

New Bern High School has won numerous state, regional and conference championships. State team championships include baseball (1966), ^[3] American football (2007, 2012, 2014), ^[4] boys' outdoor track (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) ^[5] and boys' indoor track (2006, 2008). ^[6]

The school currently competes in the Eastern Carolina 3A/4A Conference, which is made up of New Bern, Havelock, Jacksonville, Northside-Jacksonville, D.H. Conley, South Central and J.H. Rose.

Track and field

The boys track and field team won four straight NCHSAA 4A outdoor state championships in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. ^[7]

American football

The New Bern football team has won three state championships in 2007, 2012 and 2014, under former head coach Bobby Curlings. The school was stripped of its fourth state championship, which was won in 2022, for using academically ineligible players.

• On December 10, 2007, New Bern beat Independence High School for the 4AA state championship. ^[8]
• On November 30, 2012, New Bern became the 4A state champions by beating Porter Ridge High School 39–38. ^[9]
• On December 12, 2014, New Bern won the 4A state championship 25–13 over Charlotte Catholic High School, completing the season with a school record of 16–0. ^[10]
• On October 2, 2023, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) stripped the school of their 2022 4A state championship and negated all wins for using several academically ineligible players. The team was placed on probation for the entire 2023 season. ^[11] New Bern High School also had to pay a $38,662.77 fine to the NCHSAA for funds earned during the 2022 class 4A playoffs. ^[12] The investigation resulted in Head Coach Torrey Nowell resigning, and the suspension of Principal Jerry Simmons and School Counselor Heidi Ricks. Over 50 student athletes were prevented from attending the 2023 graduation and were required to attend summer school in order to complete the necessary courses and graduate. ^[13]

The football team plays its home games at Caruso-Coates Stadium and the Bobby Curlings Field, located on campus.

Naval JROTC

The NJROTC at New Bern High School earned "Distinguished Unit" honors for 15 consecutive years (2004–2018).^{[ citation needed ]}

AVID

New Bern High School is an AVID school. In 2018, the school was recognized as School-wide site of Distinction. In 2022 the school earned the distinction of being awarded the status of National Demonstration in School. ^[14]

Notable alumni

• Bill Bunting – professional basketball player ^[15]
• Davon Drew (2004) – NFL tight end ^{[16] [17]}
• Elwood Edwards – voice of AOL's "You've got mail" sound among other greetings ^[18]
• Montario Hardesty (2005) – former NFL running back and college football coach ^{[19] [20]}
• Nathan Healy – professional basketball player ^[21]
• Mike Hughes (2015) – NFL cornerback ^[22]
• Sinisa Malesevic – sociologist ^[23]
• Michael R. Morgan – Associate Justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Dan Neil – journalist ^[24]
• Kevin Reddick (2008) – NFL linebacker ^{[25] [26]}
• Chandler Seagle (2014) – MLB catcher ^[27]
• Brian Simmons – NFL linebacker ^[28]
• Adam Warren (2005) – MLB pitcher ^[29]

References

1. "New Bern High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
2. "New Bern High School" (PDF). Craven County Schools. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
3. "NCHSAA Baseball State Championship Records" (PDF).
4. Football State Championship List. NCHSAA. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
5. Men's Outdoor Track Team State Champions. NCHSAA. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
6. Indoor Track and Field Team State Champions. NCHSAA. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
7. "NCHSAA Outdoor Track and Field Records" (PDF).
8. Kyle Horan (December 20, 2014). "NBHS Bears state champion football team parade through the city". WCTI12. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
9. "New Bern High School celebrates state championship". WCTI12. December 21, 2012. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
10. "New Bern stops Charlotte Catholic 23-15 for 4A state crown" . News Observer. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
11. "New Bern to vacate 2022 football state title after reporting academically ineligible players".
12. "New Bern High School will owe $38,000 to NCHSAA because of forfeited games".
13. "New Bern H.S. ordered to forfeit state championship, placed on probation for this football season".
14. "New Bern High School Awarded National AVID Demonstration Site | New Bern's Local News and Information – NewBernNow.com". May 23, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
15. "Bill Bunting". Stats Crew. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
16. "Meet tight end Davon Drew from East Carolina". We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports. April 26, 2009. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
17. "Davon Drew, 2004 Pro Style Quarterback, East Carolina". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
18. Curtis Sittenfeld (September 30, 1998). "He's the Voice of the Net Generation". Fast Company.
19. Tony Grossi (August 31, 2010). "Montario Hardesty's preseason debut adds more intrigue to Cleveland Browns' backfield battle". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
20. "Montario Hardesty, New Bern, Running Back". 247Sports.com. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
21. Honeycutt, Jordan (January 25, 2013). "Healy heating up". New Bern Sun Journal. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
22. "Mike Hughes, 2015 Athlete, North Carolina". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
23. "UCD Centre for War Studies - Siniša Malešević". University College Dublin. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
24. David Carr (April 8, 2004). "Some Highish Brows Furrow As a Car Critic Gets a Pulitzer" . The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
25. "Kevin Reddick, 2008 Outside Linebacker, North Carolina". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
26. "Kevin Reddick - Yahoo! Sports". Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
27. Writer, Sun Journal Jordan Honeycutt, Sports (June 17, 2014). "Baseball: Seagle steady in all-star game". New Bern Sun Journal.
28. "Brian Simmons, Oklahoma, NFL Draft". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
29. Billy Witz (July 26, 2016). "Pitcher Adam Warren Happy to Be Back With Yankees" . The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2017.

External links

• New Bern High School home page