Eastern Kentucky University Athletics

CHAMPIONS!  A.W. Hamilton led EKU to the 2023-24 Atlantic Sun Conference Regular Season Championship.  It was the first regular season conference title for the Colonels in 45 years (1979).  Hamilton was chosen as the ASUN Coach of the Year and the NABC District III Coach of the Year.  He is the first coach in program history to be named conference coach of the year two times.
 
After losing 75% of its points, 77% of its assists and 82% of its rebounds from that championship squad, Hamilton built a 2024-25 squad that won 18 games and competed for another conference title up until the final weeks of the season.

Now, he has done it again.  Hamilton engineered another outstanding recruiting class for the 2025-26 campaign.  The group includes 4-star Tyler Jackson, ranked as the No. 76 player in the nation.  Jackson is the highest rated EKU signee in the recruiting rankings era.  The incoming class also features a former 4-star forward, the 2025 Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Year and Tournament MVP, a first team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) guard, the 2023 Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a 2025 North Carolina Mr. Basketball Finalist.
 
Hamilton has taken Colonel basketball to heights very few coaches who came before him have reached.  In many cases he has accomplished what no EKU men’s basketball head coach has ever done.
 
In his first seven seasons as head coach, the Colonels broke 104 program records.  In 2022-23, Hamilton led the team to 23 wins, the third most in one season in program history.  In 2020-21, EKU won 22 games, tied for the fourth-most in program history.  That means Hamilton has coached two of the five winningest teams ever in addition to one of only seven regular season conference championship teams.  He is one of only three coaches in program history to lead the Colonels to multiple 20-win seasons.  Hamilton is the only EKU coach to lead his team to 12 or more conference wins in a season five times.
 
Over the last 50 years, Hamilton is one of only three EKU head coaches to post three straight winning seasons.  Hamilton has led the Colonels to 12 or more conference wins in five of the last seven seasons.  In the 70 years prior to his tenure as head coach, the program totaled 12 or more conference wins just three times.  EKU’s 36 conference victories combined over the last three seasons are the most for any 3-year stretch in program history.
 
Hamilton’s brand of basketball – “The Most Exciting 40 Minutes in Sports” – has resonated with Colonel fans.  A new record for season tickets was set in 2021-22 and again in 2022-23.  The crowd of 6,303 for the game against Western Kentucky on Nov. 10, 2022 was the largest in more than 20 seasons.  EKU led the ASUN in average home attendance in 2022-23, the first time a Colonel team had ever led its conference in attendance, and then led the league in attendance again in 2023-24.

As part of “The Most Exciting 40 Minutes In Sports”, in three of the past five seasons Hamilton’s teams have led the conference in scoring.  EKU was the eighth highest scoring team in the nation in 2020-21, averaging more than 80 points per game, the 16th highest scoring team in 2021-22, 30th in 2022-23 and 29th in 2023-24 with an average of 81 points per game. 
 
In six of Hamilton’s seven seasons as head coach the Colonels have led the conference in steals and turnovers forced, ranking among the top-10 in the nation four of the last seven years.  In addition to scoring, steals and forced turnovers, EKU has consistently been among the conference and national leaders in assists and 3-pointers as well.
 
In May of 2023, Eastern Kentucky University secured Hamilton’s place as leader of the program with a contract extension through the 2026-27 season.
 
“I am beyond thankful for Eastern Kentucky University, Board Chair Michael Eaves, the entire Board of Regents and President Dr. David McFaddin,” said Hamilton.  “It is an honor to represent the best university in the country as its men’s basketball coach.  The staff and players we’ve had the last seven years have made a major impact in my life, and helped us make incredible strides with the program.  I could write a book on how invested, supportive and loving our fans have been with us, game in and game out, over the last seven years.  Leading the conference in attendance for the first time in school history is a great example of that.  My wife Chelsea and our kids are so invested in Madison County and thankful to be here for years to come.”
 
In his first seven seasons as head coach, Hamilton has tutored 11 all-conference selections, a conference player of the year, a conference defensive player of the year, a sixth man of the year award winner, three all-freshman/newcomer honorees and two conference all-tournament picks.

2024-25 Season
After constructing almost an entirely new team that competed for an Atlantic Sun Conference championship up until the final two weeks of the season, Hamilton put himself in the conversation for a second straight ASUN Coach of the Year award.
 
The Colonels lost four starters, 82% of their rebounds, 77% of their assists, 77% of their minutes and 75% of their points from the 2024 ASUN championship squad.  However, Hamilton’s rebuilding skills were on full display from the start as the Colonels went on the road and beat East Tennessee, led Clemson by four with less than 13 minutes left in the game and nearly beat Louisville during the non-conference portion of the schedule.  The Cardinals had to hit a last second shot to beat EKU by one. 
 
Once conference season started, EKU put together its longest conference winning streak in 59 years.  The Colonels used an 8-game ASUN winning streak to climb to the top of the league standings, beating eventual champion Lipscomb twice during that run.  The team also had three wins against two more postseason tournament teams – Florida Gulf Coast (2) and Queens (1).
 
EKU is the only team in the ASUN to have a winning streak of seven or more conference games in each of the past two seasons.  During the 2024-25 season, the Colonels ranked 14th in NCAA Division I in offensive rebounds, 25th in turnovers committed, 25th in turnover margin, 33rd in steals and 37th in 3-pointers made.
 
Devontae Blanton capped his stellar career by earning first team All-ASUN honors.  He was a candidate for ASUN Player of the Year after putting together a season in which he was the only player in the conference ranked among the top-15 in points, rebounds, assists, steals and field goal percentage.  He is the only player in program history to score 1,600 points, grab more than 800 rebounds and dish out more than 400 assists.  He concluded his time as a Colonel ranked second in EKU history in scoring, fourth in assists and seventh in rebounds.
 
George Kimble III joined the program after one season in Division II and became a second team all-conference selection under Hamilton’s guidance.  One of the premier defenders in the ASUN, Kimble finished sixth in the nation in steals per game.  Mayar Wol was chosen as the ASUN Sixth Man of the Year.  Former Kentucky Mr. Basketball Turner Buttry turned in his best season and set a new program record with 47 consecutive free throws.
 
Montavious Myrick was one of the most improved players in the nation.  In 2023-24, Myrick averaged 1.7 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.4 blocks, 0.2 steals and 0.04 assists per game.  In 2024-25, he averaged 6.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.  He finished third in the conference in rebounding, first in offensive rebounds, fifth in blocks and 13th in steals.  He was second in the ASUN with 10 or more rebounds in 13 games.
 
2023-24 Season
Multiple national preseason publications, and two preseason polls conducted by the league office, picked the Colonels to win the ASUN Conference in 2023-24 – and they followed through with those predictions. 
 
CollegeInsider.com had the Colonels ranked as the 20th-best team in their Preseason Mid Major Top 25.  EKU won its first seven conference games, which tied the best start to conference play in program history.  No squad had started the league schedule with seven straight wins since 1959-60.

A win over Jacksonville on Jan. 25 was Hamilton’s 97th as coach of the Colonels, moving him past Max Good (96) as the fourth winningest coach in program history.
 
The Colonels were fifth in the nation in blocks per game, 14th in rebounds per game (40.13), 17th in offensive rebounds per game (13.23) and 29th in scoring (80.8/game).

Isaiah Cozart turned in one of the most impressive seasons in program history under Hamilton’s guidance.  Cozart was chosen as the ASUN Player of the Year and the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year.  He was the unanimous selection as defensive player of the year and the first player in conference history to earn player and defensive player of the year recognition in the same season.  Cozart was also chosen First Team All-ASUN, First Team NABC All-District and played in the Reese’s Division I All-Star Game in Phoenix during the Final Four.  Following the season, Cozart was selected as a finalist for the 2024 Lou Henson National Mid-Major Player of the Year Award and the 2024 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year Award.  He was also invited to the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational, a pre-NBA Draft Combine tournament.

All these honors came after Cozart averaged 15.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.87 blocks per game while shooting 65% from the field.  He led the NCAA in blocks (116) and blocks per game.  He ranked fifth in the nation in offensive rebounds (4.10/game), sixth in field goal percentage, 17th in rebounding and 26th in double-doubles (14).  He recorded EKU’s first ever triple-double with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks against Troy.

The Richmond native left EKU as the program record holder for career field goal percentage, blocks in a season, blocks in a game and career blocks.
 
In addition to Cozart’s success on the court, one of Hamilton’s first recruits concluded his decorated career.  Michael Moreno ended his career first in program history in 3-pointers made (334) and games played (161), second in rebounds (958), sixth in scoring (1,631) and eighth in steals (168).  During EKU’s game at Stetson Moreno grabbed his 900th career rebound becoming the only player in program history with 1,500 points and 900 rebounds.
 
Leland Walker earned First Team All-ASUN honors and Second Team NABC All-District recognition.  He set a new program record with 16 assists in a game.  Blanton, the 2023 ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, earned Third Team All-ASUN honors.  John Ukomadu finished second in the 2024 College Slam Dunk Championship in Phoenix.

2022-23 Season
In 2022-23, Hamilton led the Colonels to the championship game of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).  It was the program’s first national postseason tournament title game ever and the first time in 78 years that an EKU team won three games in a national tournament.
 
Despite being picked to finish 10th in the ASUN Conference in 2022-23, the Colonels placed third.  EKU led all NCAA Division I teams in Kentucky in wins (23).  The squad broke 19 program records, including points in a season, blocks in a season, field goals in a season and games played.  Hamilton was a finalist for the 2023 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award which honors coaches who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who display moral integrity off it as well.
 
Moreno set single game program records for 3-pointers (11) and 3-point attempts (22) in 2022-23.  Blanton capped the 2022-23 season by earning first team All-ASUN honors, first team NABC All-District recognition, and ASUN and CBI All-Tournament distinction.

The 2022 recruiting class, the highest ranked EKU class ever, was ranked as high as 65th in the nation by 247Sports – higher than such programs as Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Georgia and Oklahoma State.  The class included the program’s first-ever ESPN 4-star freshman recruit, a former 4-star high school prospect, a 3-star freshman point guard, a former 3-star high school forward, a 3-star freshman center, a junior college All-American and Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball, the first to come to EKU as a freshman since 1980.

2021-22 Season
Hamilton reached a special milestone during the 2021-22 season.  EKU’s win over North Alabama on Feb. 16, 2022, was Hamilton’s 300th victory as a head coach. 
 
The Colonels broke program records for 3-pointers in a game (25), 3-pointers made (363) in a season, and 3-point field goals in a road game (18). 
 
EKU ranked second in the country in turnover margin (+5.84), third in 3-pointers per game (11.71), fourth in steals per game (10.19), seventh in turnovers forced (17.42) and 19th in offensive rebounds (12.58).  The team led the ASUN in all those categories as well.
 
2020-21 Season
In 2020-21 Hamilton was a finalist for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award after leading the Colonels to a 22-7 mark and winning the most conference games in program history (15).  The team ranked as high as No. 12 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 and concluded that season ranked 25th. 
 
Those 22 wins are tied for the fourth-most in program history.  The .759 winning percentage in 2020-21 was the best by a Colonel team since 1964-65, and was the highest winning percentage by any NCAA Division I team in the Commonwealth of Kentucky that season.  The squad began the 2020-21 campaign with a 14-2 mark, the best start for an EKU team in 74 years.  The Colonels also led the nations in steals (10.3 per game).
 
During the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, the Colonels won 27 conference games combined which is the most-ever for the program during a two-year period.
 
Wendell Green Jr. broke the single game assist record, the freshman record for assists in a season and was selected to the Freshman All-America Team in 2020-21.
 
2019-20 Season
Following a 6-12 conference record in his first season, Hamilton reversed those numbers to the tune of a 12-6 league mark in 2019-20.  He was chosen as the conference and NABC District Coach of the Year.  It was the first time since 1987 an EKU coach was chosen as the conference coach of the year. 
 
In addition to leading the country in steals, the Colonels ranked second in turnovers forced per game, second in turnover margin, second in tempo/pace and eighth in scoring.

2018-19 SeasonThe Georgetown, Kentucky native was hired as Eastern Kentucky University's 21st men's basketball head coach on March 23, 2018. 
 
In his first season at the helm, Hamilton brought “The Most Exciting 40 Minutes in Sports” to Richmond.  The Colonels played an up-tempo style of basketball, ranking 13th in the country in scoring at 82.6 points per game.  On Dec. 29, 2018, EKU shattered the program’s single-game scoring record with 145 points in a win over Brescia University.  In the process, the Colonels broke the conference record for points in a half with 87.
 
Nick Mayo had the best season of his decorated career in 2018-19, ranking 10th in the country in scoring and becoming the first Colonel since 2002 to drop 40 points in a game.

Before EKU
A former prep star at Scott County High School, Hamilton spent the 2017-18 season as an assistant coach under Kevin Keatts at North Carolina State University.  He helped lead the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament with a 21-12 record, including wins over No. 2 Arizona, No. 2 Duke and No. 10 North Carolina.
 
Before joining Keatts in Raleigh, Hamilton was the head coach of one of the top prep basketball programs in the country, Hargrave Military Academy, from 2011 to 2017.  Hargrave reached unprecedented levels of success during Hamilton’s 6-year tenure, compiling a record of 237-22, averaging 40 wins per season and winning the 2016 National Prep Championship.

Hamilton’s Hargrave teams posted eye-popping numbers, setting the school record for wins in a season (47) and points scored in a single game (163).  His 2015-16 squad averaged 114 points.  Across the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, the Tigers won 45 straight games.  Hamilton was named the National Prep Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2016.
 
Before being named head coach at Hargrave, Hamilton was an assistant under Keatts at the school from 2006 to 2011.  During Hamilton’s 11 years with the program, Hargrave produced 113 NCAA Division I players, one McDonald’s All-American, one Parade All-American and nine NBA players.  On Sept. 21, 2017, Hamilton was inducted into the Hargrave Military Academy Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
Hamilton starred at Scott County High School in the late 1990s, leading the Cardinals to a state championship in 1998 and a state runner-up finish in 1999.  He was named first team all-state and played in the prestigious Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Game following his senior season.  On Sept. 4, 2015, Hamilton was inducted into the Scott County High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
 
Hamilton was the starting point guard for Keatts at Hargrave Military Academy during the 1999-2000 season, leading the Tigers to a 23-3 record and a No. 2 national ranking.  While at Hargrave, Hamilton signed to play basketball at Wake Forest University.
 
After a year and a half at Wake Forest, Hamilton transferred to Marshall University.  He was a 3-year captain for the Thundering Herd (2002-05), and led the team in assists, steals and minutes played all three seasons he was there.  Hamilton ranks in the top 10 in school history in assists and in the top 20 in steals.  Following his playing days in Huntington, Hamilton served as Marshall’s graduate assistant for one season (2005-06).

Hamilton earned a bachelor’s of science in communications from Marshall in 2005.


What Others are Saying About A.W. Hamilton ...
“A.W. Hamilton is an outstanding hire by EKU.  His track record in prep school and path to becoming a head coach is identical to current N.C. State Head Coach Kevin Keatts.”
 – Adam Finkelstein, Scout/Recruiting Analyst, ESPN  

“I have never had a better leader in all my years of coaching than A.W. Hamilton.  He’s an excellent coach and teacher of the game of basketball.”
 – Billy Hicks, Former Head Coach, Scott County High School
 
“A.W. Hamilton is one of the elite recruiters and young coaches in the country.  His connections with AAU programs have boosted his ability to land marquee recruits at Hargrave, along with N.C. State.  Eastern Kentucky will flourish under Coach Hamilton’s leadership.”
 – Evan Daniels, Former 247Sports National Recruiting Director 

“A.W. Hamilton is a man of high character, strong family values, and integrity.  His coaching success at Hargrave wasn’t just measured by wins on the court.  It directly tied to helping our young men understand that character, responsibility, and leadership are the key components to becoming winners in life.  I’ve never witnessed a faster or more exciting brand of basketball than A.W.’s.”
 –  Brigadier General Doyle D. “Don” Broome, Jr. (U.S. Army Ret.), Former Hargrave Military Academy President 

“A.W. Hamilton is the definition of consistency and effort.  He understands the value of hard work and treating people right, all while getting the best out of everybody around him on a day-to-day basis.  His attention to detail and competitive edge will be seen through his players by how hard they play for each other and Eastern Kentucky University.”
 – Kevin Keatts, Head Coach, North Carolina State University