Cowboys Kicker Brandon Aubrey Returns to Plano Senior High to Honor His Former Soccer Coach

Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey went back to Plano Senior High School to honor an educator who helped shape his early years, surprising Wildcats boys soccer coach Tex McCullough with an award and a $5,000 grant for the school.

Aubrey, who graduated from Plano Senior High in 2013, teamed up with Reliant Energy to name McCullough the first Class Acts honoree of the 2026-27 school year. The program recognizes outstanding educators across North Texas.

As part of the surprise, Aubrey gave McCullough a Cowboys jersey and a game ball, in addition to the grant from Reliant. He also toured the school's recently renovated athletic facilities, revisiting the campus where he developed as a competitive soccer player.

Long before his NFL career, Aubrey was known at Plano Senior High for his soccer ability. He went on to play four years at the University of Notre Dame and earned a degree in computer science there. He has previously told Local Profile that high school was "where I found myself falling in love with computer science," the subject he later studied in college, while also allowing him "to pursue a really high level of competition in soccer."

Soccer was his main focus at the time. Aubrey played other sports, including football, but he committed to chasing a professional soccer career while still in middle school. "My goal, like every kid that makes that choice, was to make it to the professional level," he said, adding that there were no "side quests" in his plan.

After college, Toronto FC selected Aubrey in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft. He spent two years in the league's lower division before leaving professional soccer. He said he had a chance to sign with another team in that league but "wasn't making enough money for me to support a family."

Newly married, Aubrey fell back on his computer science training and went to work as a software engineer. Leaving behind the sport he had pursued for years was hard, and he recalled feeling "not quite my normal self" for several months.

His path back to professional sports began at home. While he and his wife were watching football, a kicker attempted a field goal, and she told him, "I think you could do that." Aubrey was not immediately convinced, but he went to a local football field to test his leg and then started training for a new career in a sport he had once set aside.

On July 6, 2023, Aubrey signed with the Cowboys and competed for the team's starting kicker job, opening a new chapter in his athletic career.