Yamhill-Carlton athletic director Matt Wiles swears the school wasn't looking to make headlines, or a splash, or to go somewhere others haven't been willing to go.

In hiring a boys basketball coach to replace Gary McCullough, who has run the program since 1997, Wiles said "we took the best candidate for the job."

Meet Heather Roberts, Yamhill-Carlton's new boys basketball coach and thought to be the first female coaching Oregon high school boys basketball of the modern era.

Roberts is well-known in girls basketball, as she accumulated 266 wins over 17 years coaching Ashland, Lakeridge, Canby and Sprague. Her teams made the playoffs 14 times, and played in six state tournaments. Roberts comes to Yamhill-Carlton off a four-year stint coaching women's basketball at Southern Virginia, a NCAA Division III program.

Coaching boys has been in the back of Roberts' mind for a while, as she has twin boys, both who play basketball, entering eighth grade next fall. The Roberts, who have five children, maintained their home in Canby while living in Virginia.

Roberts began thinking of coaching boys about a year ago, largely because of her twins Moroni and Malachi. Though all of Roberts' high school coaching gigs were large schools, her boys attended a small school in Virginia. Robert said she came to appreciate the small-school atmosphere, and decided if she were to coach boys in Oregon, she would target smaller schools.

Roberts thought the move back to Oregon would come next year, but the Yamhill-Carlton opening caught her attention this spring.

Wiles said after reviewing all the candidates for the Tigers' boys basketball opening, Roberts stood out.

"At the end of the day, you take the best candidate for the job. Her experience for turning around programs, losing programs and turning them into winners in a short period of time wasn't lost on us," Wiles said.

Yamhill-Carlton boys basketball is in need of a shakeup. The Tigers were 3-21 this past season, and haven't had a winning season since 2013-14. The last time Yamhill-Carlton played in the state tournament was 2007, when the Tigers placed sixth in Class 4A.

Roberts isn't all that's new to Yamhill-Carlton boys basketball. Next year, the Tigers drop to Class 3A, and will play in a new gym that is expected to be completed by late fall.

When Roberts held her first meeting with the team last Friday, Wiles said more boys showed up than were in the program last season.

"She's already generating interest," Wiles said.

Roberts said she spoke with the boys and shook all of their hands.

"They didn't seem to be unreceptive," Roberts said.

Roberts, who also becomes dean of students at Yamhill-Carlton Intermediate School, believes she is well equipped to coach boys. But she's aware there will be scrutiny.

"I need to do a good job because of females at other schools that might want to take this opportunity," Roberts said.

Asked if she's a test case, Roberts said "I am, kind of."

How receptive will male boys basketball counterparts be toward Roberts? Or how those in the community will react the first time the Tigers lose a close game or don't like one of her coaching moves?

"I'm not naive to think things won't be said. I'm sure it's coming. Hopefully not, but it might be said around the dinner table or in the stands. Frankly, it was said when I was coaching girls," Roberts said.

"I'm hopeful it won't happen. But that's OK. I'm kind of ready for that. I think I have a pretty good resume and I've been coaching a long time. ... If I treat kids fair, work them hard and have good communication, I think it will work out."

Wiles isn't the least bit concerned. Asked if he thinks boys coaches will challenge Roberts, Wiles said, "All I would say to that is, bring it."

Roberts isn't the first woman to coach boys in Oregon, but first in a long time. The only known woman to coach boys was Genevieve Beaman. According to boys basketball historian Tom Rohlffs and his book "Cutting Down the Nets," Beaman coached Thurston during the 1930s, and her 1937-38 team played in the state tournament.

There are examples of women coaching high school boys basketball nationally, but it remains an outlier rather than a trend.

There are a couple of regional instances. Jennifer Mountain, a Centennial graduate and former Portland State women's coach, coached boys basketball in Washington at St. George's in Spokane. From 1994-2001, Mountain won 134 games and led St. George's to three Class B state tournaments. Renae Gregg, currently a science teacher at Sandy and a former Pioneers' girls coach, coached boys basketball at Utah's Milford High School during the early 2000s. Milford played in several state tournaments during Gregg's tenure.

Roberts says she has talked to Gregg about her experience, as well as boys coaches she knows.

Her eyes, heading into summer ball and beyond, are wide open.

"We'll have to see if me being a woman is an issue. I'm not planning on it being an issue," Roberts said.

--Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel