Southeast Missouri Head Coach Dickey Nutt hired Stetson Hairston as an assistant coach Tuesday. Hairston completes the Redhawks men’s basketball coaching staff for the upcoming 2014-15 season.
A native of Fairview Heights, Ill., Hairston comes to Southeast after spending the last two seasons under Rodney Watson at the University of Southern Indiana. The Screaming Eagles went 48-14 and advanced to the 2013 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament as part of their staff.
"We are extremely proud to announce that Stetson will be joining our staff," said Nutt. "Several factors played a role in choosing Stetson. First off, he was a super player and a tenacious defender, so I do believe he will bring that mentality to our program. Next, and probably the deciding factor, is that Stetson is from St. Louis. We feel like the talent pool in St. Louis is going to be very strong in the next three years and he provides our program with immediate exposure since he was a former player with outstanding teams like the St. Louis Eagles and Gateway of AAU."
Prior to USI, Hairston coached at the University of Montevallo, where he helped guide the Falcons to the 2012 NCAA Division II national championship game in his only season with the program. The Falcons, who lost to Western Washington University in the title game, 72-65, had a 29-8 overall record in 2011-12.
Hairson made the transition from player to coach in the junior college ranks. He spent two seasons at Lincoln Trail College (2006-08), helping lead the Statesmen to the regional championship in 2007, before working two years at Southwestern Illinois College (2008-10), where the Blue Storm won the 2009 regional title. Hairston’s final junior college season was in 2010-11 when he helped lead Chipola College to the Florida Community College Athletic Association championship and a 25-6 record.
As a player, Hairston was a four-year starter for Southern Illinois when Watson was an assistant coach with the Salukis. SIU won four Missouri Valley Conference championships, made four NCAA Division I Tournament appearances and produced a record of 104-28 during Hairston’s tenure. Hairston finished his career with over 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds, while earning a pair of All-Conference and All-Defense awards.
Hairston graduated from SIU in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in university studies.
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