The University of Maryland Eastern Shore head men’s basketball coach Jason Crafton has added two new assistants to his coaching staff, Kevon Davis and AJ Register.
“We are excited to add Kevon and AJ to our coaching staff,” Crafton said. “They both bring a unique combination of Division 1 experience and energy that will help drive the program forward.”
Davis comes to Maryland Eastern Shore after spending last season at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa. Indian Hills went 30-3 in the 2019-20 season and were Region XI and District XI Champions and earned a number two seed in the NJCAA Tournament, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Upper Darby, Pennsylvania native is a 2008 graduate of Harcum College with an associate’s degree in sports management and he received his bachelor’s degree in professional studies in 2010 from West Chester University.
Davis’s first coaching position was at one of his alma maters, Harcum College, in 2010 where the team went 100-29 during his four-year tenure and reached the semifinals of the NJCAA national tournament in 2014. Following that, he accepted an assistant coaching position at Casper College in Wyoming. Casper went 47-18 during his two seasons there.
In 2016, he became the Director of Player Development at California Polytechnic State University. Davis oversaw player performance in regard to strength and conditioning and nutrition as well also monitored academic progress, helped coordinate travel and was the liaison between the players, the campus and the community. He was elevated to an assistant coaching position prior to the 2018-19 season.
“I enjoyed getting to know Kevon during the hiring process,” Crafton said. “He’s a Philly guy that’s well known and has national recruiting ties from his experiences, so Kevon will be very active in recruiting and player development.”
Register arrives at The Shore after a year as the Director of Scouting and Analytics at George Washington University. He spent the 2018-19 school year as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach at Siena College. He worked under head coach Jamion Christian at both spots, who was a longtime head coach at Mount St. Mary’s.
Prior to going to Siena, Register was an assistant coach for two seasons at Montverde Academy in Florida from 2016-18. The squad went 35-0 in 2017-18 and won the high school national championship and finished as the runner-up at nationals the year before that. During his time at Montverde, he coached New York Knicks forward and #3 draft pick in the 2019 NBA Draft RJ Barrett.
Register is 2014 graduate of the University of Alabama from the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. He received a secondary degree in 2016 from the University of Central Florida in Career and Technical Education. While at Alabama he served as a student manager for three seasons as an undergraduate. He was a graduate assistant at UCF in 2014-15 before being promoted to Director of Operations/Video Coordinator the next season.
“AJ is a young coach that’s on the rise and he has diverse experiences and his knowledge in analytics will be leaned upon heavily,” Crafton said. “He will help spearhead our player development and scouting while also assisting in all phases of the program.”
