Following the approval of the Mattoon CUSD #2 School Board at the April 5 board meeting, Mattoon High School’s Boys Varsity Basketball Team has a new head coach, Brandon Jones.
Jones replaces former head coach Ryan Ghere, who has coached the team since 2017.
Jones graduated from Coastal Carolina University in 2015. He’s had experience coaching multiple teams in South Carolina, and at one point worked under former NBA Celtic John Schweitz and former Eastern Michigan Assistant Coach Adam Simbeck.
One of Jones’s previous coaching positions was as a Head JV and Assistant Varsity Coach in Colleton County, South Carolina from 2019-2020. This was the first time in school history the team became back-to-back Regional Champions. The following year, Jones took the position as Head Assistant Varsity Coach at Baptist Hill High School in South Carolina. Baptist Hill had an undefeated regular season and set the Region Record as the first team to ever finish undefeated in region play for that region (7-0). The team finished the season with a 10-1 record and sent 5 players to the All-Region Team.
Jones will begin coaching at Mattoon in the Fall.
When asked what his vision is for the team Jones stated, “I hope to push the team to the next level. It’s a new challenge, a very good school district and it has good support. I’m happy, excited, and ready to get to work.”
Future Athletic Director Trent Duckett said, “I am very excited to welcome Brandon Jones to Mattoon High School. He will work hard and bring a lot of energy to our basketball program. I know Brandon will use his experience working with high-level coaches in South Carolina to improve the skills of our young men. He is very excited to step into his first varsity head coaching role and I look forward to working with him for many years to come.”