Named the 13^th head coach in Tennessee Tech men's basketball history on Friday, Apr. 12, 2019, former University of Kentucky All-American and Hall of Famer John Pelphrey is in his fifth season at the helm of the Golden Eagle program.

Despite returning just five student-athletes for the 2022-23 campaign, Pelphrey and his coaching staff brought in a class of 11 newcomers that helped lift the program to its highest point in more than a decade. While it took the squad some time to adapt and adjust to one another, come OVC play, the Golden Eagles got after it.

Following back-to-back losses to open league action, Tech flipped the script and rolled off five straight victories, embarking on an 11-7 conference record that saw the purple and gold secure a second-place finish in the regular season standings, the best by the program since 2004-05. Tech entered the OVC Tournament as the No. 2 seed, its highest since claiming the No. 1 position after winning the league's regular-season crown in 2004-05. It earned them an automatic berth to the semifinals as well, the team's 20^th trip to the final four of the OVC's postseason event.

After besting UT Martin by 15 points to earn the program's fourth-ever appearance in the OVC Tournament title game, the Golden Eagles came within a single inch of snapping their 60-year drought of attending the Big Dance. Trailing by two points against Southeast Missouri, All-OVC First Teamer Jaylen Sebree threw a full-court pass to a leaping Diante Wood. The Anniston, Ala. native turned and buried a buzzer-beater off his back foot, appearing to win the game with what was initially ruled a 3-pointer. After an official review, it was revealed that Wood's foot was barely touching the 3-point arc, resulting in a tie game instead. The Redhawks went on to defeat the Golden Eagles, 89-82, to capture their first OVC title since 2000. Both Sebree and Wood were later named to the OVC All-Tournament Team.

Pelphrey guided the Golden Eagles back to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the first time since 2017-18 during the 2021-22 season, banking in a first-round blowout over Austin Peay for the final time as league foes. Tech's 78-51 win carried the team to a quarterfinal match-up with Morehead State. The purple and gold won five of the last seven regular-season contests to clinch its spot in the postseason tournament.

Senior guard Jr. Clay earned All-OVC Second Team honors for the fourth straight year after leading the team in scoring, becoming just the second Golden Eagle ever to collect four honors of that magnitude from the conference. 

The 2020-21 campaign saw its fair share of challenges, with numerous players and even Pelphrey himself, affected by COVID-19 during the early portion of the schedule. The Golden Eagles battled through the obstacles of the pandemic and numerous injuries that affected the team's depth, ending the year with back-to-back wins against long-time OVC rivals Austin Peay and Murray State. Tech closed the year ranked fifth in the league in assists per game (14.1) and in 3-point field goals made per game (7.7).

Clay was selected to the All-OVC Second Team for the third time in as many years, finishing second in the league in scoring at 17.3 points per game. He also concluded the year earning his first career OVC Player of the Week honor.

In his first year with the program, Pelphrey saw a lot of growth from the young squad, earning six of the team's nine victories over the final 14 games. Tech finished just a game out from earning a berth into the OVC Tournament, completing the year ranked in the top-four in the league in assists per game (13.9), steals per game (6.9) and 3-point field goals made per game (8.3).

Clay earned All-OVC Second Team honors for the second time in his career and first under the direction of Pelphrey. Other accolades on the year went to sophomore forward Amadou Sylla (OVC Newcomer of the Week once) and freshman guard Keishawn Davidson (OVC Freshman of the Week once).

Boasting over 25 years of Division I coaching experience, Pelphrey's most recent stop prior to the move to Tech came as the associate head coach at the University of Alabama under former head coach Avery Johnson. He spent three seasons (2016-19) with the Crimson Tide, assisting the staff in the recruiting and signing of one of the top classes in school history, including eventual NBA Lottery pick Collin Sexton.

The 2017 signing class boasted two players among the top-25 recruits in the country, both five-star recruits as listed by Rivals.com, as well as two four-star players and a three-star, while four of the five signees were ranked among the top-100 players in the nation, according to the site. Combined, the Alabama signing class was ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation.

Prior to spending time as an analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network throughout the 2015-16 basketball season, Pelphrey spent four seasons (2011-15) in what was his second stint as an assistant coach under former head coach Billy Donovan at the University of Florida. In his 10 total years with the Gators, Pelphrey was instrumental in helping the team claim four SEC championships and secure seven total NCAA Tournament bids, including appearances in the 2000 national championship game, the 2014 Final Four, the 2012 and 2013 Elite Eight and a Sweet 16 showing in 1999.

In between his two stops at Florida, the Paintsville, Ky. native earned head coach opportunities at the University of South Alabama for five seasons from 2002-07 and the University of Arkansas for four seasons from 2007-11. Pelphrey held a combined 149-126 record (.542) as head coach between the two programs, including an 80-67 (.544) mark at South Alabama and a record of 69-59 (.539) at Arkansas.

In 2007, Pelphrey was selected to lead the Arkansas program and responded by guiding the team to 23 wins in 2007-08, the best total by a first-year coach in the school's history. They went on to an appearance in the SEC Tournament final, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That 2007-08 Razorbacks finished with a 23-12 record, including an impressive 6-2 mark against ranked opponents. The 23 wins were the most at Arkansas since 1999.

Throughout his stint as the Razorbacks' head coach, Pelphrey coached four All-SEC performers (Sonny Weems, Michael Washington, Courtney Fortson, Rotnei Clarke) and two SEC All-Freshman honorees (Fortson, Marshawn Powell). He was also instrumental in recruiting eventual All-SEC performer B.J. Young.

During his five seasons as the head coach of South Alabama, Pelphrey led the Jaguars to a Sun Belt regular season championship and a conference tournament title. That 2005-06 USA squad earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament after leading the Sun Belt Conference in scoring margin and 3-point defense. Earning Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors, Pelphrey guided South Alabama to a 24-7 mark, with the team improving its offensive output by 11 points over the previous season.

In his final season at USA, Pelphrey took the Jaguars to an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) following a 20-12 record, including a 13-5 mark in Sun Belt play.

Prior to Pelphrey's first stop in Gainesville as a Florida assistant, he spent two seasons on Donovan's staff at Marshall University, where the Thundering Herd went 18-9 in 1995 and 17-11 in 1996 after going 9-18 the year before they arrived. Prior to that, Pelphrey spent a season as an assistant coach under Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State in 1994, where the Cowboys achieved a 24-10 record and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Throughout his time in the SEC, Pelphrey coached 14 players that were drafted in the NBA including World Champions: Udonis Haslem (3x), Mike Miller (2x), Matt Bonner (2x), Jason Williams and David Lee, who was also a 2-time NBA All-Star.

Pelphrey began his coaching career following one season playing professionally in France and Spain.

He played two years at Kentucky under Sutton and three under Rick Pitino. Part of UK's class known as "The Unforgettables," he was inducted into the Kentucky Hall of Fame in 2005 and named the Wildcats' Student-Athlete of the Year in 1989. His jersey number (No. 34) was retired in 1992. During his Kentucky career, he started 90 of 114 games and finished with a career scoring average of 11.0 points.

Named Mr. Basketball in the state of Kentucky as a senior at Paintsville High School in 1987, he scored 2,477 points and grabbed 1,316 rebounds in his career.

Pelphrey is married to the former Tracy Lyon and they have a son, Jaxson, and a daughter, Grace.

THE PELPHREY PROFILE
Age:	55 (born July 18, 1968)
Wife:	Tracy
Children:	Jaxson, Grace
Education:	University of Kentucky – B.A., Marketing (1992)
Coaching Experience:	1993-94 » Oklahoma State (Assistant Coach)
	1994-96 » Marshall (Assistant Coach)
	1996-2002 » Florida (Assistant Coach)
	2002-07 » South Alabama (Head Coach)
	2007-11 » Arkansas (Head Coach)
	2011-15 » Florida (Associate Head Coach)
	2016-19 » Alabama (Associate Head Coach)
	2019-Present » Tennessee Tech (Head Coach)

 

 

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"John Pelphrey is a fabulous hire by Mark Wilson and Tennessee Tech. John has had great success as a head coach, as well as an assistant. He played right up the road in Lexington and will automatically bring credibility to Tennessee Tech. He will be able to get every door opened in recruiting throughout the southeast. As good a coach as John is, he and Tracy are even better people." - Greg Byrne, Director of Athletics, University of Alabama
"What a great hire for Tennessee Tech. John Pelphrey is an absolute wonderful human being, first and foremost. He will be an instant hit in the community. As a coach, John is tenacious and has all the tools and abilities to establish a winning tradition at Tech. Golden Eagle fans have a great reason to be excited." - John Calipari, Head Coach, University of Kentucky
"I think Tennessee Tech hired an outstanding coach and an outstanding person. John Pelphrey had a huge role in building the basketball program here at Florida under Billy Donovan. He has obviously been a head coach and done extremely well. He is just what I would call a big time person and coach. I'm very excited for him and certainly know that Tennessee Tech will be pleased with the job John does." - Jeremy Foley, former Director of Athletics, University of Florida
"John Pelphrey was a great addition to our program. I knew when we hired him we were going through a building program. In his first three seasons, he went 36-48, but never veered from his game plan. The next two seasons we were 24-7 and 20-12 with a regular season Sun Belt Conference Championships and a Sun Belt Tournament Championship. He and his wife Tracy were excellent in the community. John Pelphrey and his staff will impact the basketball community." - Joe Gottfried, former Director of Athletics, University of South Alabama
"John, Tracy and their family will be fantastic additions to the Tennessee Tech campus and the Cookeville community. John is an experienced coach who knows how to run a program the right way. His relationships with players and staff members make him stand out among the crowd. He has worked with a variety of coaches and has been exposed to many different coaching styles and philosophies. There's no doubt in my mind that when he puts his stamp on the program it will produce championship results." - Tom Hart, ESPN
"John and his family will be a great asset for the Tennessee Tech family. He has a tremendous amount of experience that is going to be very valuable with all of the players, parents, staff, alumni, student body, fans, donors and the community. He will work hard building character and competitive spirit in the team." - Avery Johnson, former Head Coach, University of Alabama
"Coach Pelphrey is like family to me. He recruited me at Florida and was like a father figure to me. He was a crucial part of my development as a player and a person. Without his help I wouldn't have had the career I did. The school, the fans and the players are all lucky to have a person like Coach Pelphrey be a part of their new family." - Mike Miller, Assistant Coach, University of Memphis
"John is an awesome hire for Tennessee Tech. He has a great mind for the game and is a tireless recruiter. He is one of my all-time favorites." - Rick Pitino, Head Coach, Iona College    former Head Coach, University of Kentucky / University of Louisville
"When I coached John, he was a great competitor who thought the game extremely well. I always knew he would make a great coach someday." - Bill Runyon, former Head Coach, Painstville High School