Men's Basketball

Head Coach Jim Sykes

Phone: 712-274-5371

E-Mail: sykes@morningside.edu

Jim Sykes has been a consistent winner at Morningside since he was promoted to the position of head coach in January of the 2003-04 campaign. Sykes has led the Mustangs to six consecutive winning seasons, including four 20-win campaigns, three NAIA Division II National Tournament berths, three Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular season championships, and a GPAC Post-Season Tournament championship. He has a career record of 129-46 for a .737 winning percentage.

Sykes guided the Mustangs to a second consecutive GPAC regular season championship in 2008-09 despite the graduation loss of seven seniors, including four starters, from a team that went 29-4 in 2007-08 to set a school record for victories and was ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the season. He was named the 2008 GPAC Coach of the Year after he guided the Mustangs to the regular season GPAC title.

He has led the Mustangs to NAIA Division II National Tournament appearances in three of the last four seasons. The Mustangs have reached the second round of the national tournament each of the past two seasons. Sykes guided the Mustangs to a 28-7 record, the GPAC's post-season tournament championship, and the Elite Eight of the NAIA Division II National Tournament during the 2005-06 campaign.

Sykes guided the Mustangs to a 20-11 record in 2004-05 for the college's first 20-win season since 1994-95.

He was named the Mustangs' head coach on March 29, 2004, after he led the Mustangs to a strong second half finish during the 2003-04 season while serving as the team's head coach on an interim basis. Sykes, who was in his third year as the Mustangs' top assistant coach, took over the program on an interim basis after former head coach Jerry Schmutte took a medical leave of absence.

The Mustangs posted a 9-3 record under Sykes en route to an 18-13 finish and a 14-4 record in the GPAC to share the league's regular season championship with Northwestern College. Sykes was named the 2004 GPAC Coach of the Year for his efforts. The Mustangs, who had finished 10-22 during the 2002-03 campaign, were the surprise team of the GPAC after they had been tabbed for a 12th place finish in the conference coaches’ pre-season poll.

He came to Morningside from Waverly, Neb., where he had been a coach at Waverly High School for 10 years. He was an assistant coach for Waverly's varsity boy's basketball and football teams and was a junior high school track coach. Sykes helped lead Waverly to a berth in Nebraska's 1995 Class B state basketball tournament.

He graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1989. Sykes previously attended Hastings College, where he was a member of the Broncos' men's basketball team for two years.

Assistant Coach Brad Schmit

Phone: 712-274-5372

E-Mail: schmitb@morningside.edu

Brad Schmit will be in his fourth season on the Mustangs' coaching staff and in his third year as the team's top assistant coach when the Mustangs enter the 2009-10 campaign.

He joined the Mustangs' coaching staff following a highly decorated playing career with the team. Schmit, a 2006 Morningside graduate, is the Mustangs' all-time leading scorer with 1,987 career points as well as the school's all-time leader with 329 career 3-point field goals. He was a two-time NAIA Division II honorable mention All-American, a three-time first-team All-GPAC performer, and a four-year starter.

He was the Mustangs' leading scorer and rebounder during the 2005-06 campaign with averages of 17.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and made 96 3-point field goals to break his own school record.

Schmit set a Morningside single-game record with 10 3-point field goals during a 35-point performance against Dana College as a freshman.

He was a Iowa Newspaper Association and Des Moines Register all-stater during his prep career at Jesup High School.

Assistant Coach Eric Nelson

Eric Nelson, a 2008 Morningside graduate who majored in elementary education, is in his second season on the Mustangs' coaching staff.

Nelson, a native of Laurel, Neb., was in the Mustangs' basketball program as a player for three seasons. He earned a varsity letter in 2006-07 when he played in 27 of the Mustangs' 32 contests.

Nelson is a 2004 graduate of Laurel-Concord High School.

Assistant Coach Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson joins the Mustangs' coaching staff following a successful three-year playing career, two of them as the Mustangs' starting point guard.

Johnson, a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, graduated from Morningside in 2008 with a major in biology.

He scored 705 points and amassed 304 assists and 161 steals during his playing career. Johnson had a career scoring average of 7.1 points per game, led the Mustangs in assists in each of his three seasons with the varsity, and was a two-time honorable mention All-GPAC performer.