McKendree University men’s basketball coach Chris Foster has announced that Seth Jackson will serve as the Bearcats’ new assistant coach. Jackson joined the Bearcats' staff in April 2018.
Jackson, a St. Louis native, comes to McKendree after spending the last year working as the assistant video coordinator and operations intern for the Grand Rapids Drive of the National Basketball Association (NBA) G League. Jackson helped in player development among his various duties with the Drive, which serves as the G League affiliate for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
“We are very excited to add Seth to our coaching staff,” said Foster, who was named as the Bearcats’ head coach back on March 30. “He had a very successful playing career in the GLVC, and his experience and knowledge of the league will be invaluable to our players. Seth has an unbelievable passion for teaching the game, and his in-area connections will be a great asset in our recruiting efforts.”
Jackson is certainly no stranger to both Foster and the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Jackson was a four-year member of the Truman State University basketball program, where Foster spent the last four seasons as the Bulldogs’ head coach. Jackson capped his career by finishing third on the career scoring list at Truman State with 1,655 points. He is also second on the Bulldogs’ career chart with 521 made free throws. During his senior season in 2015, Jackson dropped in a career-high 42 points against Drury University, and tied a school record by making 25 free throws in the contest.
During his four years at Truman State, Jackson earned All-Conference honors in each season. Jackson was named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Freshman of the Year in 2011-12, and was a two-time honorable mention All-MIAA pick. After Truman State joined the GLVC prior to his junior season in 2013-14, Jackson garnered second-team All-GLVC accolades as a junior before earning first-team All-GLVC honors as a senior in 2014-15. As a senior, Jackson led the conference in scoring at 22.3 points per contest, and went on to receive All-Region awards from both Daktronics and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Following his career at Truman State, Jackson went on to play professionally overseas. He was a member of the BC Balkan team in Botevgrad, Bulgaria for the 2015-16 season before moving on to play for Vllaznia Shkodra in Shkoder, Albania in 2016-17.
Along with his overseas professional experience, Jackson has served as a skills trainer for basketball players of various levels, including youth, collegiate and professional athletes.
“I’m very thankful to Coach Foster and (McKendree director of athletics Chuck Brueggemann) for this opportunity,” said Jackson. “This is a great opportunity to not only grow individually, but to come to a place like McKendree that is looking to do some big things. To do that with Coach Foster is kind of a dream come true. He is one of my best friends and I think that’s unique, to have that chance. He did a lot for me as a player and I’m just looking to give something back to him and help him do some great things here at McKendree.”
