Smithpeters earns NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Coach of the Year

Charlotte, NC - John A. Logan head coach Tyler Smithpeters has been named the 2022-23 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Coach of the Year. 

This was Smithpeters' first season as head coach for the Volunteers. In just one season as head coach, Smithpeters led John A. Logan to its first national title in program history. 

Athletic Director Greg Starrick on Smithpeters- "Congratulations to Coach Smithpeters on this well-deserved honor. As a first-year head coach, his demeanor on and off the court and his relationship with his players was the recipe for success throughout this magical season." 

John A. Logan had a 33-2 record on the season with a 31-game winning streak. They began the preseason receiving votes in the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball rankings. After week one, they moved up to be the No.13 ranked team in the country. In that same week, they lost to No.5 ranked Indian Hills and No.16 ranked Northeast Mississippi, dropping them down to No.19 in the Week Two rankings. After that week, the Volunteers did not lose another game for the rest of the season. 

Coming into his first year as head coach, Smithpeters signed four NCAA Division I transfers, two NJCAA transfers, three true freshmen, and had three players return from the previous season. One of the NCAA DI transfers, Curt Lewis who transferred from Eastern Kentucky, was named to the 2022-23 NJCAA First-Team All-America team. Another NCAA DI transfer, Quimari Peterson who came from Indiana State, was named to the 2022-23 NJCAA Second-Team All-America team. Lewis and Peterson combined for a total of 973 points, 379 rebounds, and 295 assists on the season for the Volunteers.

Assistant Men's Basketball Coach Marcus Walker on Smithpeters- "Coach Tyler Smithpeters has done an outstanding job in his first year as the head coach of the John A Logan Volunteers! His calm coaching demeanor and strong leadership approach played a key role in the Vols' historic run!"

Smithpeters spent the prior four seasons as the assistant coach at John A. Logan under his older brother, Kyle Smithpeters. During his time as assistant coach, the Volunteers went 102-19 with three consecutive Region 24 championship titles. Smithpeters spent his college basketball days playing at Southern Illinois University where he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Sixth Man of the Year in 2018. 

Assistant Men's Basketball Coach Tadd Andrews on Smithpeters- "It's an honor to be an assistant to the Coach of the Year. Coach Smithpeters truly deserves it with the amount of determination, dedication, and sweat equity he has put into this program. His calm demeanor throughout the season fit perfect with this team's personality, and his ability to remain organized led to the success that we've had."

Under the leadership of first-year head coach Tyler Smithpeters, the John A. Logan Volunteers went into the 2023 DI Men's Basketball national tournament as the No.1 seed. The Volunteers showed exactly why they earned that spot until the very end when they defeated Northwest Florida State 73-70 to bring home their first-ever national title.