Morehead State’s Preston Spradlin continues rise as a Kentucky basketball coaching star

There’s a simple guiding principle behind the way Morehead State men’s basketball coach Preston Spradlin begins each of his practices.

The Eagles start each session at Ellis T. Johnson Arena with a defensive closeout drill, the squeak of sneakers signaling the way as players sprint out to the 3-point line, put a hand in the air and rotate to the side.

“I was told a long time ago that if someone could walk into your practice, within the first five minutes they should know what you’re about and what you stand for,” Spradlin told the Herald-Leader. “I kind of hang our hat on that: We’re going to start every single day and we’re going to get our mind right that, no matter what, we’re going to defend at a very high level.”

Even Morehead State’s best players — like senior guard Drew Thelwell, the program’s all-time wins leader and a catalyst behind this season’s NCAA Tournament team — admit the exercise can be monotonous.

“I’ve done it for four years, every single day,” Thelwell said. “You can get tired of it, or you can look at it like, ‘How can I get better at my closeouts? How can I get better at the little things?’ And it’s translated for four years.”

No NCAA Division I men’s college basketball program in the commonwealth has won quite like Morehead State has over the past four seasons: With a 94-39 (70.7%) record since the start of the 2020-21 season, the Eagles are the wins leader among Kentucky’s eight Division I programs over this period.

That’s especially true this season: Last week’s 3-for-3 showing at the OVC Tournament saw Morehead State secure a ninth-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament and set a program record for wins in a season with 26.

This is part of the larger pattern of overwhelming success Spradlin has enjoyed in Morehead. A native of Pikeville, the 37-year-old Spradlin is a son of the commonwealth in all senses of the term.

A self-professed Ale8 fanatic, Spradlin went to Betsy Layne High School in Floyd County, played college basketball at NAIA school Alice Lloyd College in Knott County and worked in several different capacities for John Calipari and the Kentucky men’s basketball program during the nascent days of his coaching career.

(Spradlin received several shout-outs during Calipari’s weekly radio show Monday night for reaching March Madness for a second time with the Eagles).

Ex-UK guard Sean Woods hired Spradlin to his Morehead State staff in 2014, and a 29-year-old Spradlin was thrust into the role of interim head coach in December 2016 after Woods resigned following an independent investigation into allegations by two players that he assaulted them.

Spradlin entered this turbulent situation and immediately provided stability: After a 2-7 start and Woods’ resignation, the Eagles went 12-9 overall and finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference under Spradlin in that 2016-17 season. He was named the full-time head coach in March 2017.

After three losing seasons (both overall and in OVC play) to begin his full-time tenure, the wins have come in spades for Spradlin, starting with the 2020-21 season.

Morehead State has strung together four straight seasons of at least 20 wins, the first time in program history that’s happened.

This includes last season’s regular season OVC championship, which marked Morehead State’s first outright league title in 39 years. After losing in the OVC Tournament semifinals last season, Morehead State still made history by winning its first-ever game in the NIT.

The Eagles won a share of the OVC regular season title again this season.

Of course, the NCAA Tournament is an all-important benchmark for small schools like Morehead State that come from one-bid leagues like the OVC, where winning the conference tournament is a necessity.

Spradlin — who is paid $260,000 annually according to his current contract, which runs through June 2027 — has that box checked as well.

The Eagles went dancing in 2021 for the first time in a decade. And they’ll be back again this year.

Preston Spradlin excels with talent development at Morehead State

Spradlin’s win-loss record at Morehead State speaks for itself, and his track record of player development is just as good.

Under his watch, some of the best players in Morehead State history have come through Rowan County.

This list includes players who used the Eagles as a springboard to bigger programs, like forward Johni Broome (now an All-SEC star at Auburn) and guard Ta’Lon Cooper (now one of the SEC’s top assist men at South Carolina).

It also means talented players who picked Morehead State from the transfer portal: Current guards Mark Freeman (Tennessee State and Illinois State), Jordan Lathon (UTEP and Milwaukee) and Kalil Thomas (UMass Lowell) are among this group.

Freeman, last season’s OVC Player of the Year, has missed all of this season after suffering a preseason wrist injury.

The aforementioned Thelwell and guard DeVon Cooper (an every-game starter on Morehead State’s 2021 NCAA Tournament team) have represented traditional, multi-year college players that Spradlin molded into key contributors over several seasons.

“It’s joyful to be around him,” Thelwell — who has started 67 of a possible 68 games for Morehead State over the last two seasons — said of Spradlin. “... He’s one of the best basketball minds I know.”

Spradlin also appears to be a savant when it comes to a specific area of roster management: Transfer portal pickups from outside of Division I hoops.

In the last two seasons, the Eagles have had star players Alex Gross (Olivet Nazarene) and Riley Minix (Southeastern) step up from the NAIA ranks to become huge contributors.

“That’s the art of recruiting in the portal,” Spradlin said. “Making sure that you’re getting guys that fit, not only your program and your culture, but they fit with your existing, returning players.”

How has Spradlin turned Morehead State of all places into such an inviting destination for talented college players, and specifically those looking to test themselves at the Division I level for the first time?

“I think it just comes down to the culture that Coach P and all these guys have set here,” said Minix, this year’s OVC Player of the Year with per-game averages of 20.8 points and 9.8 rebounds.

Spradlin fosters a fun-loving Morehead State basketball environment

Spradlin and Thelwell’s relationship is symbiotic at this point, which is exactly the kind of relationship you’d hope to have between a senior point guard and head coach.

Both men know what to expect of the other, on and off the court. This kind of longevity is a major reason why Thelwell has set a single-season record for assists (207 and counting) at Morehead State this season.

It also means Spradlin’s demeanor is well known to Thelwell, who describes his head coach as a “a really funny guy.”

“He makes a lot of jokes in the film room, too,” Thelwell said. “The way he is around (the media) is the way he is around us: Just a really good guy, and I couldn’t have picked a better coach for four years.”

Last Saturday night was a prime example.

Four of the pillars of the Morehead State men’s basketball program — Minix, Spradlin, Thelwell and Thomas (from left to right) — appeared together during the Eagles’ postgame press conference at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, after winning the OVC Tournament championship.

Spradlin dedicated more than a minute of his postgame media session to recounting the story of Tadd Johnson, a Morehead State team manager who found himself locked in the arena earlier during the tournament, only to rip his pants while hopping a fence to escape.

In fact, Spradlin not only shared this story with the press, but he also said he used it as part of a motivational speech to his players during the tournament.

“We’ve got those pants, and we’re going to get them framed! Like we get the jerseys,” Spradlin declared. “We’re going to put a piece of chain-link fence in there, and some net.”

During Saturday’s trophy celebration, Spradlin gave one of his championship medallions to Johnson.

This anecdote speaks to a larger truth about Morehead State men’s basketball under Spradlin: Not only is it successful, it also seems like a lot of fun for everyone.

Last season, the Eagles brought in a total attendance of nearly 29,000 fans across 16 games in Morehead, for an average of 1,800 fans per home contest. This season, Spradlin’s program averaged more than 1,900 fans per game across 15 home games. Both of these attendance marks led the OVC as the Eagles went 28-3 at home over the last two seasons.

A significantly pro-Morehead State crowd also made up most of the 1,421 fans in Evansville for Saturday’s championship game.

This all matters to Spradlin, a Kentucky kid with the coaching world at his feet and another NCAA Tournament trip upcoming.

“Basketball in the state of Kentucky is very important,” Spradlin said. “I grew up in that culture, and so, to be at the top of that list is very important and very special to me.”

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