Jerry Nichols is entering his first season as the head basketball coach at Walters State Community College and was hired in July 2023 after five seasons at Tennessee State University. Nichols is in his 10th year as a head coach at the NJCAA level.

Before his arrival in Morristown, TN, Nichols served as the Associate Head Basketball Coach at Tennessee State in 2024, and joined the TSU program as an assistant coach in 2018 in which he served 5 years at TSU from 2018-2024. In 2020, Coach Nichols was named as One of the Top Coaches in the OVC by ESPN Stadium, as well as One of the 50 Impactful Low Major Coaches in the Country by Silver Wave Media.

Nichols had a highly-successful five seasons as the Head Coach of Southwest Tennessee Community College (2013-2018) in Memphis, TN and served as a court coach for the USA Basketball Under 18 Junior National Team in 2016.

Nichols was previously the Head Coach at Motlow State Community College as well from 2009-2013 in which he was successful.

A native of Memphis, Tenn., Nichols compiled a 200-59 career record during those nine seasons as a junior college head coach  at both Southwest Tennessee & Motlow State – winning five Tennessee Community College Athletic Association Coach of the Year honors. Guiding Motlow State from 2009-13, his teams went 80-31. He took over at Southwest Tennessee prior to the 2013-14 season, going 120-28 in five seasons from 2013-18.

Nichols won two TCCAA Coach of the Year awards at Motlow State, serving as the head coach and athletics director. His best season with the Bucks came in 2012-13 when his team won the TCCAA Championship and earned Motlow its 1^st ever berth in the NJCAA National Tournament. Motlow State finished 13th in the final NJCAA Division I poll in 2013.

Moving on to Southwest Tennessee, Nichols continued to thrive, picking up three more TCCAA Coach of the Year awards. Nichols’ Saluqis finished 18th or better in the final NJCAA Division I polls in four of his five seasons. Twice Southwest finished 11th, including the 2015-16 season, when the Saluqis went 30-5 and earned a berth in the NJCAA Sweet 16. Southwest Tennessee won 2 games in the NJCAA National Tournament with a upset of #2 North Idaho College.

With USA Basketball’s U18 Junior National Team, Nichols was court coach in which the team won gold in the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championships in Valdivia, Chile. That team featured many of today’s NBA young star: Trae Young, Michael Porter Jr, PJ Washington, Kevin Huerter, Jerrett Allen, Mo Bamba, & Markelle Fultz.

Nichols began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Walters State Community College during the 2006-07 season before heading to Union College in Kentucky for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.

As a player, Nichols starred for Westwood High School in Memphis, TN and averaged 29.1 points per game and was the 3^rd leading scorer in the city in 2001. He went on to become a two-time NJCAA All-American guard at Walters State Community College. The two-time TCCAA Player of the Year ranked ninth in the nation in scoring at 21.6 points per game as a sophomore. Also, Nichols led Walters State to two NJCAA Tournament appearances while making the NJCAA All-Tournament Team in Hutchinson, Kansas twice (2002, 2004). Nichols continued his education and playing career at Arkansas State University, where he led the team in three-point shooting and was named the team’s top defensive player during his junior season. He was the recipient of ASU’s Leadership Award as a senior.

Nichols graduated from Arkansas State in 2006 and earned his master’s degree from Union College (KY.) in 2009.
 

THE JERRY NICHOLS FILE
- 1st Season at Walters State
- Alma Mater: Arkansas State '06
- Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.

- Overall Head Coaching Record – 228 - 61

- 2023-24 Overall Record 28-2 (TCCAA Conference Record 16-2)

- 2023-24 TCCAA Regular Season Champs

- 2023- 24 TCCAA State & Region 7 Champs

- 2024 TCCAA Coach of the Year

- 2023 -24 TCCAA All-Conference Player (1^st Team – Ramondo Battle, Micah Simpson ; 2^nd Team – Terrence “J.R.” Jacobs

- 2024 TCCAA/Region 7 Tournament MVP – Terrence “J.R” Jacobs