David Jablonski: Springfield native returns to head coaching in West Virginia

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Concord University hired Springfield native Jayson Gee as its head men’s basketball coach on Monday, April 27, and will introduce him at a press conference Wednesday in Athens, W.Va.

This is the first head coaching job for the 1984 South High School graduate Gee since he led Longwood University, a Division I program in Farmville, Va., from 2013-18. He also served as the head coach of his alma mater, the University of Charleston, from 1996 to 2003.

Like Charleston, Concord is an NCAA Division II program and a member of the Mountain East Conference. Gee replaces Todd May, who stepped down after 10 seasons to take an assistant coaching job at Akron.

We are extremely excited to welcome Coach Gee to the Concord family," Concord University Athletic Director Luke Duffy said in a press release. "Gee brings a coaching pedigree that is second to none, and his ability to attract the best players on the court makes him and his family a great fit for the Concord men's basketball program."

"My vision is we are going to bring the EDGE," Gee said in a press release. "E is for energy and I'm all about energy, so there will be great energy in the program, around the program and outside the program. When you see us, you are going to feel that energy. The D is for discipline. We're going to do things to a standard and do them the right way. We're going to discipline our mind, discipline our tongue and discipline our body.

"Two things associated with Jayson Gee are energy and toughness. We're going to play with great grit and then E is for excellence. We're going to do our best and let God do the rest. Energy, discipline, grit and excellence is what Concord basketball will become known for, and be a consistent competitor in the Mountain East Conference."

Gee won the Clark County Mr. Basketball award in 1984 as a senior at South. He helped lead the Wildcats to a 20-0 regular season.

Last season, Gee worked at Kansas State on Jerome Tang’s staff. His title was character coach. That stint followed four seasons in which he served as an associate head coach on Justin Gray’s staff at Western Carolina (2021-24) and Coastal Carolina (2024-25).

Gee’s coaching career started in 1989 at Youngstown State when, at 23, he was the youngest full-time assistant coach in the country.

Gee then spent four seasons on Larry Hunter’s staff at Ohio. He got that job in 1993 when Bill Brown left Hunter’s staff to take the head coaching job at Wittenberg.

Gee also has worked as an assistant coach with Anthony Solomon at St. Bonaventure (2003-06), Gary Waters at Cleveland State (2006-13), Pat Kelsey at Winthrop (2018-19) and John Brannen at Cincinnati (2019-20).

Gee enjoyed his best seasons as a head coach at Charleston. The program made four straight NCAA tournament appearances from 1999-02. One of his star players was South grad Ajamu Gaines, who was the Division II national player of the year in 2000.