SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's basketball head coach Beth Cunningham announced today the addition of assistant coach Jay Spoonhour to the Lady Bear coaching staff.
 
Spoonhour, the son of Missouri State coaching legend Charlie Spoonhour, spent the last year serving as the assistant athletics development director and the primary support liaison for external NIL stakeholders at MSU.
 
A veteran coach with nearly 30 years of experience, Spoonhour has compiled 225 career wins as a men's head coach and brings a wealth of experience and passion to Missouri State.  
 
Spoonhour spent one season as an assistant coach for men's basketball at Missouri State under former coach Dana Ford in 2023-24. Prior to that, he spent nine seasons as men's basketball head coach at Eastern Illinois University from 2012 to 2021 where he coached four NABC All-District players, seven All-OVC players and six OVC Newcomer Team honorees during his tenure in Charleston.
 
Prior to his coaching tenure at EIU, Spoonhour was head coach and athletic director at Moberly Area Community College from 2009-12, was assistant coach at UTSA from 2006-08 and assistant at Missouri from 2004-06. He spent the 2001 to 2004 seasons on his late father's staff at UNLV where the Runnin' Rebels participated in the NIT all three seasons. Jay served as interim head coach at the end of the 2004 season, guiding UNLV to a 6-3 finish down the stretch.
 
He also has a previous head coaching stop at Wabash Valley College (2000-01) in Mt. Carmel, Ill., where he helped lead the team to a 36-1 record, Great Rivers Athletic Conference title and NJCAA national championship. For his memorable run, Spoonhour earned NJCAA National Coach of the Year, Region XXIV Coach of the Year, GRAC Coach of the Year and Hutchinson Rotary Club Coach of the National Tournament.
 
The Springfield native also has assisting coaching stops at Valparaiso (2000), Saint Louis (1996-99) and Central Missouri (1994-96). He coached alongside his father at SLU, helping the Billikens to a 22-11 run in 1998 that resulted in an NCAA Tournament win over UMass. Ten of his former players have gone on to careers in the NBA, including two lottery picks.
 
His new appointment is contingent upon formal approval by the Missouri State Board of Governors at its next meeting.
 
Coach Cunningham on Spoonhour:
"We are extremely excited to welcome Jay to our staff. He immediately adds an extensive amount of coaching experience to our group, and he will be a great source of knowledge for both our staff and players. A Springfield native, Jay knows the history and culture of our program, and we are happy to add him to our Lady Bear family!"