Jonathan Mattox named head coach at Morehead State

Jonathan Mattox has been named head coach at Morehead State, the school announced on Friday. Mattox spent the last two seasons at Murray State, but before that had a nine-year stint at Morehead where he worked his way up from graduate assistant to be Preston Spradlin‘s associate head coach.

“It is an honor to welcome back Jonathan Mattox and his family (Katie, Jonah, and Kyleigh) to Morehead State. Johnny’s experience and familiarity with MSU and Morehead, Kentucky will reap great benefits in the continuation of Eagle Basketball’s success on and off the court,” said AD Kelly Wells. “His transformational leadership style, recruiting expertise, and love for Morehead State will shine in his new role as MSU Eagle Basketball CEO. We are excited to rally Eagle Nation around Coach Mattox, and our Eagles, to continue the standard of excellence connected with our program.”

Mattox is a Georgia-native who first joined the staff at Morehead State in 2013, becoming a graduate assistant under Sean Woods. He advanced over the years to assistant coach and then eventually associate head coach, working under Woods and Spradlin for nine seasons in total. He was a part of the 2020-21 Eagles’ team that reached the NCAA Tournament after winning an Ohio Valley Tournament title.

“I’m so excited to be back as the head men’s basketball coach at Morehead State!” Mattox said. “This institution and this community mean a lot to my family and I. My wife, Katie and kids are excited to be back; It feels like coming home. I’m looking forward to continuing the tradition that is Morehead State Men’s Basketball.”

The Eagles are coming off a 26-9 season in which they won OVC regular season and Tournament titles and earned a 14-seed in the Big Dance. Mattox, AGE, will replace Spradlin, who led the program to 142 wins over the last eight seasons before leaving last month to take over as head coach at James Madison.

credit to Morehead State Athletics for the image