HARRISONBURG, Va. – Contemporary off a report season and NCAA Championship Second Spherical look, James Madison moved shortly to fill its head teaching emptiness, hiring one other NCAA qualifying coach in Preston Spradlin to a six-year deal.
Spradlin involves JMU from Morehead State, the place he guided the Eagles to their second NCAA look in 4 seasons in 2023-24. Throughout that stretch, MSU posted 22 or extra wins in all 4 seasons, going 94-40 total and 58-16 in league video games within the Ohio Valley Convention. The 94 wins symbolize the very best four-year mark in program historical past and first time hitting 20 wins in 4 straight seasons for a workforce that started competitors in 1929-30. The Eagles had solely achieved consecutive 20-win seasons as soon as beforehand in program historical past, and Spradlin posted 4 of the 11 20-win campaigns all-time in over 90 seasons.
“Preston stood out on the prime of our record as we researched candidates based mostly upon the resume that he is constructed at a really younger age as a head coach,” JMU Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne stated. “As soon as we met with him, it was much more evident that he is the overall package deal in a head coach. The outcomes converse for themselves, however past the outcomes we discovered a real and genuine coach and trainer who cares about his student-athletes, about his establishment and the group. Given our latest success at James Madison, our facility, our sources and the keenness of our fanbase, we imagine Preston is the proper coach to construct one thing actually particular in Harrisonburg.”
“My household and I are extraordinarily excited for the chance to steer the JMU program and take over throughout a monumental time for the College!” Spradlin stated. “All through this course of it was of the utmost significance that we not solely discovered a fantastic basketball program but additionally a caring group that we are able to embrace and proceed to lift our household. We’re wanting ahead to connecting with the various supporters of JMU Athletics and partnering collectively to compete for future championships! Go Dukes!”
The Eagles completed prime three within the league in every of the final 4 seasons, together with common season champions in 2022-23 and 2023-24. They earned a No. 14 seed within the NCAA Championship in each 2021 and 2024, falling to No. 3 seeds West Virginia and Illinois, respectively.
Morehead State went 26-9 in 2023-24, posting a top-30 report within the nation. The Eagles earned a three-way tie for normal season champions within the OVC, then defeated every of the tied groups within the league event to assert the NCAA computerized bid. MSU’s solely 4 losses in non-conference play got here to Energy 5 opponents Purdue, Alabama, Penn State and Indiana as his non-conference energy of schedule ranked 54th nationally. Spradlin’s squad posted by far the very best NET score within the OVC at 106 with the following finest mark at 182.
As a workforce the Eagles ranked prime 10 within the nation in area objective proportion protection (seventh, 39.3%), scoring protection (ninth, 63.4 factors/sport) and rebounding margin (sixth, 8.5 rebounds/sport). Morehead State was additionally 15th in scoring margin (11.9 factors/sport), 18th in three-point proportion protection (30.2%) and posted the 30th finest report within the nation with a .743 profitable proportion.
Spradlin was named Coach of the Yr within the OVC in 2020-21 and 2022-23. The latter season noticed the Eagles make their first NIT look in program historical past, profitable at Clemson within the first spherical earlier than falling at UAB within the second spherical. That workforce went 22-12 total and 14-4 in league play.
The earlier two season Spradlin went 23-11 in 2021-22 and 23-8 in 2020-21, which included a 17-3 league report and NCAA journey. He inherited the Eagles program as interim head coach in 2016-17 as one of many youngest head coaches within the nation at 29. He proceeded to information them to a 12-9 mark, together with a second-place end within the OVC East at 10-6. The subsequent season noticed a drop-off to 8-21, however he steadily constructed this system again up over the following two seasons previous to breaking via because the OVC’s prime program during the last 4 years.
As an assistant coach for 2 seasons previous to his elevation to move coach, Spradlin helped the Eagles to data of 17-17 and 23-14 from 2014-2016. The latter 12 months noticed MSU go 11-5 within the OVC and end as runner-up within the School Basketball Invitational (CBI), profitable probably the most postseason video games in program historical past with 4.
Previous to Morehead State, the Pikeville, Ky., native spent 5 seasons on the employees of John Calipari at Kentucky. He spent two years as a graduate assistant coach (2009-11) adopted by three seasons as director of operations (2011-14).
Spradlin earned a bachelor’s diploma in historical past from Alice Lloyd School in Kentucky in 2009 and added a grasp’s diploma in kinesiology and well being promotion, with a sports activities management emphasis, from Kentucky in 2011. He was a four-year males’s basketball letter winner for the NAIA Eagles from 2005-09.
Spradlin and his spouse, Misty, have a son, Bentley, and a daughter, Aubrey.