Randy Bolden has been named the 13th head men’s basketball coach at Mississippi College, Athletic Director Mike Jones announced on Thursday, April 8.
Bolden succeeds Jones, who announced his retirement as head men’s basketball coach on March 8. He will become the first Black head coach in MC Athletics history.
“Coach Bolden is an outstanding addition to the Mississippi College basketball family,” Jones said. “I’m excited to follow his successes. He is a proven winner, he develops talented basketball players with high character, and he is a man of God. He fits everything we are looking for when hiring a head coach.”
“What an honor it is to have Coach Jones entrust me to be the head coach for Mississippi College men’s basketball,” Bolden said. “This program has a tradition of excellence, and I am looking forward to our team building on that. The Gulf South Conference is a great league, and this will surely be a challenge, but I’m ready to get to work and push our guys to be better on the court and in life each and every day.”
Bolden has served as the head coach at Jones College for the past four years and guided the Bobcats to a 59-31 record, including back-to-back 20-win seasons, a south division championship, and a conference runner-up finish in 2018-19. The Bobcats also finished as NJCAA Region 23 Runners-Up in 2019-20.
In his first three years at Jones College, 17 players signed to play at the four-year level, including Georgetown, Louisiana and Southern Miss.
Prior to his time at Jones College, Bolden served as an assistant coach at Hinds Community College for one season and had a very successful career at Meridian High School (2007-16).
While at Meridian, Bolden guided the Wildcats to a combined 227-55 record, 2011 MHSAA 6A State Championship (29-2 overall) and back-to-back south state crowns in 2010 and 2011. He also served as the North/South All-Star Game head coach during the record 2011 season.
He served as head coach at Pearl High School from 2004-07 and was an assistant coach at Jackson Provine High School from 2002-04.
Bolden played collegiately at Texas Southern from 1994-98, where he was named the Southwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and two-time SWAC Player of the Year as a junior and senior. He finished in the Top 10 in scoring nationally twice and helped Texas Southern to the NCAA Tournament in 1995 where the Tigers came close to upsetting defending national champion Arkansas, dropping a 79-78 decision.
After graduating from Texas Southern in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, Bolden played professional basketball from 1998-2002 in Iceland, Brazil and Canada before getting into the coaching profession. He earned his master’s degree in health, physical education and recreation from Jackson State University.
https://www.gochoctaws.com/news/2021/4/8/MBB_BoldenHired.aspx
