Kim Royston named new football coach at Cretin-Derham Hall

For the second time this month, Cretin-Derham Hall has named a new football coach.

On Friday, the school introduced Kim Royston as its new coach. Royston replaces Ben Burk, who accepted the job earlier this month but decided to remain at Lakeville South.

Steve Walsh, who coached the Raiders the last three seasons, stepped down after the 2024 season. Walsh, a 1985 graduate of Cretin High School who was a standout quarterback at Miami (Fla.) and played in the NFL, will remain at Cretin-Derham Hall in its advancement office.

Royston, a 2006 Cretin-Derham Hall graduate, was a Gophers safety from 2009 to ′11 after transferring from Wisconsin. He later coached at Armstrong High School in Plymouth and at Hamline and Temple universities. He also worked in athletic administration at Shakopee and Minneapolis Southwest.

“I am proud to continue the proud tradition of Raider football,” Royston, who is in his third year as an assistant principal at Cretin-Derham Hall, said in a statement released by the school, ”and I am excited to build a winning culture for our student-athletes based on hard-work, discipline, and sense of team.”

Cretin-Derham Hall was 6-5 last season, reaching the Class 5A quarterfinals. The Raiders defeated Tartan for the Class 5A, Section 4 championship — their first section title since 2017 — before losing to Owatonna.