Jones College women’s basketball has announced the return of former Bobcat student and coach Griffin Cheatham to round out its 2025-26 coaching staff.
“Griffin is no stranger to Jones basketball and an excellent piece to complete our staff,” first-year head coach Trista Magee Whitman said. “He brings Division I experience and contacts at the four-year level. He is very hard-working and knows what it takes to win.”
Cheatham spent last season with South Carolina Upstate’s men’s program as an assistant coach. He handled all video operations, created opponent defensive scouting reports and coordinated all offensive game plans. He also assisted with player development that led to Mister Dean being named the Big South Freshman of the Year and Carmelo Adkins to the all-freshman team.
He was with South Alabama for the 2023-24 season as a graduate assistant coach with the women’s program where he created and presented scouting reports, handled video operations, coded practices and games and served in a player development role among many other duties.
Cheatham was a student assistant for the Jones men’s program during the 2022-23 season. The Bobcats finished 17-11 and as Region 23 runner-up. A program-tying eight players inked with four-year programs off that squad.
Cheatham spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant varsity coach for the boys basketball team at Petal High School under the direction of Region 5-6A Coach of the Year, Brandon Jennings. He was responsible for scouting and developing game plans, leading individual skill development sessions, and managing the scout team to prepare the varsity for its opponents. He also assisted in video editing and film sessions.
The Panthers compiled the most wins in program history at 24-8 and advanced to the Elite Eight of the MHSAA 6A State Playoffs. He was influential in the development of four student-athletes that signed college scholarships while at Petal, including Bobcat freshman Xavier Fortenberry.
Cheatham was head middle school and assistant varsity coach in 2020-21 for Presbyterian Christian that featured two MAIS All-Stars for the Bobcats. Prior to that, he served as an assistant varsity and middle school coach at Taylorsville High School.
Cheatham also had a brief stint at the NCAA Division I level where he served as a student manager for the women’s basketball team at the University of South Florida under Hall of Fame head coach Jose Fernandez.
Cheatham got his associate degree from Jones in 2020, is a 2023 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Southern Miss in liberal studies and is currently pursuing a master’s in sports management from South Alabama.
He played high school basketball and baseball at Stringer.
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