Georgia State proudly announces Jon Cremins as the Head Coach of the Panthers’ men’s basketball program, Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb and President M. Brian Blake announced on Friday afternoon.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Jon Cremins to lead our men’s basketball program,” Georgia State University President M. Brian Blake said. “Coach Cremins emerged as the exact coach GSU needs at this time, rising to the top of a strong pool of interested coaches. I look forward to him bringing success back to the basketball program and overall energy that winning brings to our campuses.”
Coach Cremins has been an integral part of two successful Sun Belt Conference programs. Most recently, energizing Vanderbilt to new levels of success. He brings a relentless work ethic, and his commitment to data and analytics in roster construction, player development, team identity and style of play will be crucial in the future success of Georgia State basketball. Cremins is familiar with consistently playing in the NCAA tournament and will be a successful collegiate head coach.
An Atlanta native, Cremins has successfully recruited Atlanta and the state of Georgia for many years.
“Coach Cremins is a leader who has a clear vision for building a championship program, and our staff looks forward to working with him to build a program that all Panther fans will embrace,” Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb said.
Georgia State Athletics will host a formal introduction of coach Cremins at the football spring game on Friday, April 17. Stay tuned for details to come.
“I’d like to thank President Blake and Athletic Director Charlie Cobb for this outstanding opportunity,” Head Coach Jon Cremins said. “I’m thrilled and deeply honored to be the next head coach at Georgia State University and to return home.”
“This program has tremendous potential in the heart of Atlanta,” Cremins said. “Top tier facilities and a city loaded with talent ready to compete at the highest level. I can’t wait to get to work developing our players on and off the court. This is a dream come true, and my staff and I are fired up and ready to go.”
Jon Cremins comes to Georgia State from Vanderbilt, where he spent two seasons as the assistant coach of the Commodores.
At Vanderbilt, Cremins assisted head coach Mark Byington to a 47-22 record over two seasons, including NCAA Tournament appearances in both seasons.
Prior his stop at Vanderbilt, Cremins served as an assistant coach under Byington at three previous stops, including JMU, Georgia Southern and Charleston. He has spent each of the past seven seasons as an assistant coach under Byington.
In his first season at Vanderbilt, Cremins helped the Commodores to a 20-13 overall record and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017. 2024-25 marked the first 20-win season since 2012 and the Dores also won four games over top-15 ranked opponents, the most in a single season since 1987-88. Vanderbilt also reached the national rankings for the first time since 2015 as the Dores climbed to No. 24 in the AP Poll.
While at JMU, Cremins helped lead the Dukes to their record-setting 32-4 mark this season, a Sun Belt Conference championship and NCAA Tournament win. JMU posted an 82-36 record during the four-year tenure.
During Cremins’ two seasons as an assistant at Georgia Southern, he helped guide the Eagles to 20-or-more wins in both campaigns. With Cremins in Statesboro, Georgia Southern ranked fourth in the nation in field goal percentage and 15th in scoring during the 2018-19 season.
Cremins spent the 2017-18 season as an assistant at USC Upstate and prior to that stop served as the head coach for two seasons at Spartanburg Methodist. In his two seasons with the Pioneers, Cremins led the squad to a 55-11 record and back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA Division I Championship. He was named the Region X Coach of the Year in both of his seasons with Spartanburg Methodist and guided the Pioneers to nation-leading marks in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and three-pointers made.
He also spent time at Kennesaw State, Southeast Missouri and two seasons under his uncle, legendary coach Bobby Cremins, at Charleston.
Cremins began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Valdosta State.
Cremins earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Valdosta State in 2007 and a master’s in public administration in 2009.
