Original article (Illinois State Adds Jason Slay to Basketball Coaching Staff) on Illinois State University’s athletic website goredbirds.com.
Illinois State head men’s basketball coach Ryan Pedon has announced that Jason Slay has been added to the coaching staff.
“Jason came very highly recommended to me early on in our search,” said Pedon. “Needless to say, I was very impressed with him in all areas.”
Slay comes to ISU after spending two seasons at the University of South Florida where he was an assistant coach with the Bulls.
From 2017-21 he was the associate head coach at Youngstown State, helping guide the Penguins to the first back-to-back winning seasons in almost a decade, while setting Horizon League-era records for total wins. In 2019-20 YSU accepted a bid to play in the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament; however, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He has had great experience along his journey working for coaches that I trust and admire. Those experiences will undoubtedly serve our program very well.”
In his first season in northeast Ohio, Slay helped YSU to a program-record 266 steals, breaking the 27-year-old record, while the offense scored the fifth-most points in school history.
“One of the things that stood out about Jason was the energy and enthusiasm that he brings to the table. He is positive, upbeat, and energetic – all qualities that I really admire about him. He is very talented and will be a great asset to our program. Please join me in welcoming Jason, his wife Brittany, and their one-year old daughter Kaylyn to Illinois State.”
Prior to his stint at Youngstown State, he was an assistant coach at Virginia Military Institute (2015-17), East Tennessee State (2014-15), Tennessee State (2013-14), and was the director of basketball operations at Georgia Southern (2012-13). He also spent time as the top assistant coach at Hargrave Military Academy after starting his coaching career at his alma mater of West Virginia State after he graduated with his undergraduate degree in general education in 2008.
As a student-athlete at West Virginia State, and as a four-year captain, he helped guide the Yellow Jackets to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 in 2004, 2006, and 2007.
Slay comes from a basketball family, as his older brother Tamar played at Marshall and in the NBA for the New Jersey Nets after being drafted in the second round, and his cousin, Ron, played for Tennessee and made a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 as a freshman in 2000.
Jason and his wife, Brittany, welcomed their daughter, Kaylyn, on February 9, 2022.