West Virginia Wesleyan Interim President Boyd Creasman and Director of Athletics Randy Tenney are pleased to announce that Jack Meriwether has been named the head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Coach Meriwether served as the interim head coach for the past two months, leading the team to an 8-7 record during his stint and a tie for fifth in the Mountain East Conference, which featured three nationally ranked teams. The fifth place finish was Wesleyan’s fourth highest league finish in 20 years.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to continue working with our administration, alumni, supporters—and most importantly our student-athletes—to build on the extraordinary history of West Virginia Wesleyan men’s basketball,” remarked Coach Meriwether. “This is a special group of players and I am very fortunate to continue on as their coach. We will continue to work to be better every day and live up to the high expectations, both on and off the court, that are the foundation of the Wesleyan experience.”
The basketball squad finished the season 13-16 overall after advancing to the quarter-finals of this year’s MEC Tournament.
“Coach Meriwether did an admirable job for a half season of leading a young team, with seven freshmen and six sophomores and only two seniors,” said Creasman. “His players view him not only as a coach but as a mentor and a teacher. I am confident that Coach Meriwether can bring in talented players who will complement a team that showed a great deal of potential. He offers the program an opportunity for much-needed continuity, a record of recruiting talented student-athletes who represent the values of the College, and the promise of a bright future for Wesleyan basketball.”
Coach Meriwether arrived at Wesleyan in the summer of 2015 and served as an assistant coach for 1 ½ seasons.
His 2016 recruiting class was ranked among the top in the nation and included 2017 Mountain East Freshman of the Year, Luke Layhew.
In his first season with Wesleyan as an assistant, Meriwether helped lead the team to a 17-13 overall record during the 2015-2016 season and a seventh place finish in the MEC. Meriwether worked extensively with Wesleyan’s post players including 2nd team All-American and the nation’s leading rebounder Tanner McGrew.
Prior to his time at Wesleyan, he had spent the last three years in central Virginia coaching some of the top players in the country as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Boo Williams’ 17-Under EYBL team.
Under Williams, he coached six McDonald’s All-Americans, as well as the No. 10 pick in last year’s NBA draft, Thon Maker.
During his time with Williams, he also helped the team achieve a 2014 final national ranking of fourth in the country and bring home the first Super Showcase National Championship in program history. For his accomplishments Meriwether was selected as a head coach for the 2015 Mary Kline Classic.
In addition to his work with Williams, Meriwether also has extensive coaching experience at the high school and post-graduate level.
He spent the 2014-2015 season as an assistant coach at Genesis Academy in Lynchburg, Va.
Prior to taking the position at Genesis Academy, Meriwether spent two years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator to the post-graduate basketball team at Fork Union Military Academy.
Meriwether studied at Virginia Tech and completed his degree at Thomas Edison State College while working as an independent scout.
http://wesleyanbobcats.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/releases/20170320h5dwfk
