Illinois College men’s basketball has announced Jay Rowell as the next full-time assistant coach of the Blueboys men’s basketball program.
Rowell has worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Illinois College for the past four seasons and before that was an assistant coach at Knox College during the 2018-19 season. He spent multiple years coaching at the high school level at Peoria Christian High School, Peoria Central High School, and Tinley Park High School. During that time, he also spent six seasons as head coach of the Peoria Area Elite 16U AAU program.
“Beyond thankful for the opportunity and privilege to continue serving the student-athletes here at Illinois College. There are not enough words to express what this program and community mean to me. I genuinely believe it is the opportunity of a lifetime and I am excited about the work ahead! Thank you to Coach Schweer and the administration for investing in me and allowing me to grow into this role. Excited to continue pushing for new heights and help carry out the vision Coach Schweer has set for this program,” said Rowell.
Rowell is a United States Air Force veteran with seven years of service. He was awarded the Air Force Meritorious Service Award during his military career. He is currently working towards his bachelor’s degree in business management from Devry University and is expecting to graduate in August of 2024.
“This is a great day for our program. Jay has been with us for the past four years and has made a lot of sacrifices to be a part of our staff. Along the way he has established transformational relationships with the young men who have chosen Illinois College and has positively impacted our program in every way you can imagine. He has continued to grow personally and professionally and has also built his own family here in Jacksonville. Jay exemplifies everything that we value in our program. He is fiercely loyal, he is as competitive as they come, he has an exceptional work ethic, and he cares deeply about all of the people in and around our program. I am very thankful for his efforts over the years and to say that he has earned this opportunity doesn’t even do him justice. There is no better person for this job than Jay Rowell and we are so fortunate to have him in this new capacity,” said Head Coach Steve Schweer.
The Blueboys will look to replicate their historic season from last year finishing with the most wins in program history with a record of 25-3 overall and 15-1 in the MWC.
