Jay Spoonhour joined the Missouri State women's basketball coaching staff in July 2025.
Spoonhour, the son of Missouri State coaching legend Charlie Spoonhour, spent the past year serving as the assistant athletics development director, which helps secure financial support for all 19 men's and women's intercollegiate athletics teams, and as the primary support liaison for external NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) stakeholders, including alumni, donors, business owners, representatives, collectives, and other parties. He serviced NIL-related opportunities and initiatives and was responsible for advancing the NIL program's marketing and activation efforts.
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.
Spoonhour is a 1994 graduate of Pittsburg State University.
He and wife Nicole, have three children -- Grace, Charlie and Sam. Charlie is a member of the Missouri State baseball team and Grace ran cross country for the Bears for two seasons (2023-2024).
