John Pelphrey Named New TTU Men’s Basketball Coach

Tennessee Tech has named John Pelphrey as the next head coach of the Golden Eagles men’s basketball team.

Athletic Director Mark Wilson said the university felt Pelphrey was the best candidate to lead their student-athletes on and off the court.

“I think that the deciding factor was that we felt like John was the best fit and had the greatest experience,” Wilson said. “He’s really committed to the academic success of our student-athletes, recruiting young men of high character and building young men in their character. Certainly, we think his pedigree as a coach will lead the Golden Eagles to Ohio Valley Conference championships.”

Pelphrey has served as Alabama’s associated head coach since 2016 and helped bring in one of the top men’s basketball recruiting classes in 2017.

Wilson said Pelphrey’s success in recruiting will greatly benefit the university.

“Anybody in basketball like head coaches and assistant coaches, they are extremely big into recruiting,” Wilson said. “We think with [Pelphrey’s] experiences that he will do a great job recruiting young men, young students, and young athletes to Tennessee Tech.”

Pelphrey has previously served as head coach at South Alabama from 2002 to 2007 and Arkansas from 2007 to 2011. Pelphrey nearly won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship in 2008 with Arkansas while setting a school record for most wins in a season at 23.

However, Wilson said success off the court will matter just as much as the on-court production.

“He has a history of academic success with his student-athletes. The questions that he asked about academics at Tennessee Tech, the questions he asked about our student-athletes in the program now were in-depth questions,” Wilson said. “We clearly knew that he understood the importance of academics… But he knows [student-athletes] are going to need their degree from Tennessee Tech to make their lifelong living and he’s committed to that.”

Pelphrey also has experience at the University of Florida as an assistant coach from 1998 to 2002 and again from 2011 to 2015. The Gators made multiple Final Four and Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA tournament with Pelphrey, including a championship appearance in 2000.

Prior to his stint with Alabama, Pelphrey worked with ESPN and the SEC Network during the 2015-2016 season as an analyst.

Tennessee Tech will host an official press conference Friday at 3:15 p.m. in the Hooper Eblen Center.