Christopher Newport University Head Men’s Basketball Coach John Krikorian today announced the hiring of Dominic Parker as Assistant Head Coach. Parker, a native of Raleigh, N.C., previously spent two seasons on the Captains’ bench, and has most recently been working as an assistant coach at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC, for the last three seasons.
Christopher Newport is coming off its first NCAA Division III National Championship in men’s basketball this past season. The Captains recorded a record of 30-3 and defeated Mount Union (OH) in the national title game in Fort Wayne, IN, in March. The position on Krikorian’s staff became open when Jarren Dyson accepted an assistant coaching position at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY.
“I am thrilled that Coach Parker will be back on our staff as Assistant Head Coach,” Krikorian said. “He already knows many of our players and helped build the culture that has been behind so much of our success. He has the highest character, an elite work ethic, and his relationship skills are second to none. I am so appreciative of the work that Coach Dyson and Coach Brown did this season in helping us make history. I’m confident that Dom is the right coach to help us build on that success and help us continue to move our program forward. Welcome back Dom!”
Parker spent the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons as an assistant coach on Krikorian’s staff. His responsibilities included recruiting, scouting, fundraising, and running team camps. Parker helped the Captains to the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) regular-season championship both seasons. In 2018-19, the team won the CAC Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Final Four. Parker was named to the 2018 Under Armour 30-Under-30 program while at CNU.
Parker spent one year as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore after leaving CNU in 2019. While at UMES, Parker was responsible for recruiting efforts, scouting, film, and coordinating study halls and academic meetings with student-athletes.
Parker originally came to Christopher Newport following two seasons assisting the Shenandoah University men’s basketball program in Winchester. Parker earned both a bachelor’s degree in Health, PE, Rec, and Dance and a master’s degree in Sports Management from Virginia State University in 2012 and 2013, respectively. He began his coaching career at Virginia State as a graduate assistant in the 2012-2013 season. Parker assisted the program at Richard Bland College from 2013-2015. Richard Bland’s 2014-2015 squad won the National Championship of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
