This one has been out there for a while – mentioned it back on 6/1 (Daily Dirt). It’s now been made official. Jay Spoonhour has been named as an assistant coach on Dana Ford’s staff at Missouri State. Here’s the official release from MSU:
The son of Missouri State coaching legend Charlie Spoonhour is returning to Springfield. Jay Spoonhour will be joining coach Dana Ford‘s men’s basketball staff this season as an assistant coach, Ford announced today.
A veteran coach with nearly 30 years of experience, Spoonhour has compiled 225 career wins as a head coach and brings a wealth of experience and passion back to his hometown team.
“Jay brings a wealth of basketball coaching experience to our staff, and we are honored to bring him back to Springfield,” said Ford. “He has spent the past decade as a Division I head coach, he is obviously very familiar with our program, and he is well connected in the basketball community. I know our fans will enjoy getting to know Jay and welcome him home.”
The 52-year-old returns to the Ozarks after most recently spending nine seasons as head coach at Eastern Illinois University from 2012 to 2021. At EIU, Spoonhour led the Panthers to a CIT appearance in 2015, advancing to the second round, and made eight OVC Tournament trips in nine years with three postseason victories. He coached four NABC All-District players, seven All-OVC players and six OVC Newcomer Team honorees during his tenure in Charleston.
His 2014-15 EIU squad won 18 games and set a program high-water mark with nine straight Division I wins, while ranking 54th nationally in 3-point FG percentage. He led EIU to wins over Missouri in 2016-17 and Illinois in 2017-18, followed by a remarkable 2018-19 season in which the Panthers ranked 54th nationally in 3-point percentage and buried 272 treys as a team.
Prior to his term at EIU, Spoonhour was head coach and athletic director at Moberly Area Community College from 2009-12, was assistant coach at UTSA from 2006-08 and assistant at Missouri from 2004-06. He spent the 2001 to 2004 seasons on his father’s staff at UNLV where the Runnin’ Rebels participated in the NIT all three seasons. Jay served as interim head coach at the end of the 2004 season, guiding UNLV to a 6-3 finish down the stretch.
He also has a previous head coaching stop at Wabash Valley College (2000-01) in Mt. Carmel, Ill., where he helped lead the team to a 36-1 record, Great Rivers Athletic Conference title and NJCAA national championship. For his memorable run, Spoonhour earned NJCAA National Coach of the Year, Region XXIV Coach of the Year, GRAC Coach of the Year and Hutchinson Rotary Club Coach of the National Tournament.
The Springfield native also has assisting coaching stops at Valparaiso (2000), Saint Louis (1996-99) and Central Missouri (1994-96). He also coached alongside his father at SLU, helping the Billikens to a 22-11 run in 1998 that resulted in an NCAA Tournament win over UMass.
Ten of his former players have gone on to careers in the NBA, including two lottery picks.
A 1994 graduate of Pittsburg State, Spoonhour was an honorable mention all-conference player as a senior for the Gorillas in 1994.
He and wife Nicole, have three children — Grace, Charlie and Sam.
His hire is contingent upon formal approval by the Missouri State University Board of Governors at its next scheduled meeting.
