Texas Club Softball Coach Under Fire for Allegedly Stealing From Families
A youth softball coach in the greater Houston area is under investigation after he allegedly collected funds from parents and vanished with their money.
Pasadena Police are investigating Thaddeus Lewis, who parents say "vanished after collecting hundreds of dollars."
Police told KPRC 2 that the coach is currently under investigation for theft, but he has not been formally charged.
According to parents who spoke with the local outlet, the situation began in January when Lewis posted a Facebook ad recruiting players for an 18-and-under summer showcase team.
The red flags began flying when Lewis would show up late to practice or call it off completely for a variety of reasons.
“There would be times where he would come really late to practice. There were times where you would call off practice because of family obligations or things that came up,” Jennifer Hightower, a parent, said.
Jessica Broussard, another parent, added, “He had car trouble. So, car trouble became girls start warming up. I’ll be there. That went to, OK, just keep on. I’m not going to be able to make it.”
Select Softball Coach, Thaddeus Lewis, is accused of vanishing after taking parents money. After our story aired last night, Pasadena Police released his photo. Detectives are asking for info because they believe he's done this before. @KPRC2https://t.co/lSd6DHYZES pic.twitter.com/6hnAgg2eDi
— KPRC 2 Corley Peel (@KPRC2Corley) July 2, 2025
“Then we had the, I have a family member ill in Louisiana," Broussard added. "Then I have a family member that died. So, it was just too many red flags.”
By June, all communication with the team had been cut off by Lewis. His phone was no longer in service, the group chat was gone and social media accounts disappeared.
According to another parent, Ashley Morgan, Lewis owes her money from last summer when he did the same thing.
“He told us that his mom had passed, and so we weren’t going to be able to attend some of the showcases that were scheduled and that we had all paid for,” she explained to KPRC 2.
Morgan admitted she didn't reach out to police at the time because she didn't know how far she could legally take it. Now that he has done it again, she has already made a call to help with the investigation.
According to Pasadena Police, Lewish is cooperating with the investigation, and authorities encourage those who have any information to contact detectives at 713-475-7892.
Parents have also set up a GoFundMe to help families recoup some of the money.
-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.