Jackson Capel, a former NAIA All-American who played eight seasons of professional basketball in Europe, has been added as a volunteer assistant basketball coach for the men’s basketball program. David Balza, who is entering his eight season as the Palm Beach Atlantic University Head Basketball Coach, made the announcement.
From 2009 through 2017, Capel played in professional leagues in Germany, Switzerland and Spain. He was part of a championship team in the Spanish LEB Gold league in 2016-17 and was named to the Eurobasket.com all-league teams in Germany and Switzerland.
Upon his retirement from playing, Capel began his coaching career during the 2017-18 season at Cincinnati Christian University. He then coached two seasons as an assistant at Indiana University East from 2018-20, helping them win 49 games over the two years. IU-East qualified for the NAIA National Tournament both years, advancing to the Elite 8 in 2019. Both schools are members of the River States Conference.
Capel is a native of the Cincinnati area. He scored more than 2,700 career points during his high school career at Heritage Academy, just across the Ohio River in Kentucky. In 2019, Jackson was inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. Capel was a three-time NAIA All-American at Evangel University in Springfield, Mo. He ended his college career at Evangel as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,337 points and holds all of Evangel’s 3-point records. In 2020, Jackson was inducted into the Evangel University Hall of Fame.
“I am excited to add someone with Jackson’s playing experience to our staff,” commented Coach Balza. “Jackson comes from a great family and has a bright future ahead of him in the coaching profession. He understands the value of Christian education and will be a tremendous mentor for our student-athletes both on and off the court.” Capel joins lead assistant Evan Sizemore on the 2020-21 coaching staff. Capel will be involved in all areas of the program, including recruiting, academic support and daily operations. On the court, Capel’s shooting expertise will be looked upon to help develop the Sailfish roster.
Capel earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Evangel and a Masters of Business Administration from The University of the Cumberlands. Jackson and his wife Leah will be residing the West Palm Beach area with their infant son, Action.
