Morehead State University’s head men’s basketball coach, Jonathan Mattox, has been named a finalist for the CollegeInsider.com Ben Jobe Award. The award is presented annually to the top minority head coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball.
The Ben Jobe Award honors the legacy of its namesake, who was a prominent figure in basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Jobe is most recognized for his 12-season tenure as head coach at Southern University. He also led programs at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee, and South Carolina State.
Mattox’s leadership in his second season as Morehead State’s head coach resulted in the Eagles securing an Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) regular-season co-championship and posting a 19-12 overall record. The team’s 15-5 conference record was the second highest league win total in program history.
He is noted as being the first head coach in Morehead State history to guide his team to an OVC title within his initial two seasons.
Mattox previously spent nine years on the Morehead State staff before serving as an assistant coach at Murray State during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. He returned to lead Morehead State starting with the 2024-25 season. His career began at MSU in 2013-14 as a graduate manager and he later became associate head coach for the 2021-22 season.
Other finalists for this year’s Ben Jobe Award include Kenny Blakeney (Howard), Speedy Claxton (Hofstra), Hubert Davis (North Carolina), Johnny Dawkins (UCF), Kahil Fennell (UTRGV), Dennis Gates (Missouri), Corey Gipson (Austin Peay), Justin Gray (Coastal Carolina), Cornelius Jackson (Marshall), Terrence Johnson (Texas State), James Jones (Yale), Jai Lucas (Miami), Bashir Mason (Saint Peter’s), Ritchie McKay (Liberty), Antoine Pettway (Kennesaw State), Roger Powell (Valparaiso), Richie Riley (South Alabama), Kelvin Sampson (Houston), Takayo Siddle (UNCW), Tony Skinn (George Mason), Nolan Smith (Tennessee State), Rod Strickland (Long Island), Reggie Theus (Bethune-Cookman) and Charlie Ward (Florida A&M).
