Eastern Florida State University has named Thomas Gray the 12th men's basketball head coach in program history.
Gray comes to Eastern Florida State after serving as director of recruiting at Vanderbilt University last season.
“My family and I couldn't be more grateful to begin this journey in East Florida. From our first conversation with Athletic Director Jeff Kerr, we knew we were here to succeed not only on the court, but more importantly, in life. “We have found this to be a special place led by an administration that strives to put our student-athletes in the best possible position to accommodate them,” Gray said. “We are grateful for the opportunity that Principal Dr. James Ritchie and Coach Kerr have given us.”
The Memphis, Tenn., native was an assistant coach at McNeese State University from 2021-2023 and was the coordinator of men's basketball operations at the University of Mississippi from 2018-2021.
In 2014, Gray became the head coach at Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he compiled a 61-39 record in four seasons. He led the Bears to the NJCAA Region 23 semifinals in each of his final two seasons and at least 17 wins in three seasons.
His team achieved a team GPA of 3.59, the second-highest cumulative GPA in NJCAA men's basketball history, and was named the NJCAA Men's Basketball Academic Team of the Year for the second consecutive year. The Bears boasted his 3.42 GPA in 2015-16, making him the first MACJC men's basketball team to win the award. In just his second season as the Southwest District head coach, Gray led the Bears to their first MACJC state championship in 53 years.
“We are very excited to hire Thomas Gray as our new men's basketball coach,” said Eastern Florida State University Vice President of Athletics Jeff Carr. “Thomas has been very successful as a head coach, having been on the staff at Vanderbilt this year with Jerry Stackhouse, at Ole Miss with Kermit Davis, and at other NCAA Division I schools. He is knowledgeable about the game, has great connections in the basketball world, and is a man of integrity. We are excited to have Thomas join the EFSC Titan staff.”
Gray replaces Jeremy Schulman, who spent 14 seasons at Eastern Florida State and won 346 games, the most in program history.
“My friend Jeremy Schulman has made Eastern Florida one of the best basketball programs in the NJCAA, and our staff is committed to continuing that standard of excellence,” Gray said. Ta. “We look forward to being great teammates with all of the great coaches on campus and are very excited about the future of athletics at Eastern Florida State University.”
Gray began his career in college basketball as a graduate assistant at the University of Mississippi, where he earned his master's degree in 2011. Gray also attended the University of Mississippi as an undergraduate and earned his bachelor's degree in 2009.
Gray is married to Ashley and they have a daughter, Charlotte.
https://www.efsctitans.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/releases/20240429mt59f5