Morehead State signs HC Preston Spradlin to contract extension through 2025-2026 season
In its 74-year history, the Morehead State men's basketball program has only won at least 23 games in a season six times. Two of those have come in the last two campaigns under head coach Preston Spradlin.
The Eagles decided on Wednesday morning to reward Spradlin for his success.
Spradlin started as Morehead State's interim head coach midway through the 2016-2017 season after Sean Woods resigned following a 2-7 start to the year. The Eagles went 12-9 the rest of the way that season, and after a few tough campaigns record-wise, Spradlin and company broke through by going 23-8 in 2020-2021.
The Pikeville, Ky., native guided the club to the conference tournament title that season and appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 14 seed. Morehead State fell to No. 3 West Virginia in the first round, but Spradlin was named the OVC Coach of the Year for his efforts.
"It is an honor to serve our community and this University as the Head Men's Basketball Coach here at Morehead State. I am thankful to our leadership of (President) Dr. (Jay) Morgan, (Director of Athletics Dr.) Jaime Gordon and our Board of Regents for their continued commitment to our program," the coach said. "Success on the court paves the way for a bigger platform to fulfill our purpose as leaders and I am excited to continue our mission of impacting the lives of our players each season. As the landscape of college athletics continues to change, consistency has become increasingly vital to maintaining success. Our staff will continue to adjust and navigate these changes with the same integrity that we have from day one to make sure that we position our program to compete for Championships for many years to come."
This past season, the program went 23-11 and advanced to the OVC Tournament Championship Game before falling to Murray State.
More must-reads: