Matt Sligh enters his third season as an assistant coach for the Bears in 2017-18.
Sligh officially joined Paul Lusk's staff on April 6, 2015 after spending the previous two years as head coach at Motlow College in Tullahoma, Tenn.
While there, he helped lead the Bucks to a 23-6 record in 2014-15 and final NJCAA Division I ranking of No. 17 in the NJCAA national poll. His last Motlow club finished second in the Region VII tournament and ranked among the top 10 junior college programs in the nation in scoring (95.2), assists, 3-point field goals made, blocks and defensive rebounds. He was 37-20 in his two seasons at Motlow with a pair of NJCAA All-America performers and four All-Region VII standouts to his credit.
Prior to taking the Motlow College job in 2013, he was the top assistant coach at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., from 2010-2013 for legendary coach Larry Holley. He was part of a 25-8 season in 2010-11 that culminated in an NAIA Division I Tournament berth and was instrumental in recruiting, scouting and the program's transition to NCAA Division II status. Sligh helped coach and recruit six all-conference players at William Jewell and an NAIA All-American.
A native of Lakeland, Fla., Sligh enjoyed a successful three-sport collegiate career at Covenant College in Georgia where he excelled in soccer, basketball and golf. He was a two-time NAIA Academic All-American at Covenant and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology in 2005. He went on to earn his Masters in Health and Physical Education from Northwest Missouri State in 2012.
Sligh, 35, was also a standout prep athlete at Lakeland (Fla.) Christian School where he earned 13 varsity letters in four sports and scored 1,135 points as an all-state basketball performer and two-time district player of the year for the Vikings.
He and his wife, Emily, reside in Springfield.
