John Aiken - Men's Basketball Coach

John Aiken

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
jaiken2@utm.edu

John Aiken is in the first season of his second stint (third overall) as assistant coach for the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball program in 2024-25.

Aiken was also on the Skyhawk sidelines as an assistant under Heath Schroyer from 2014-16. Aiken most recently spent five years at McNeese in Lake Charles, La., including his last two seasons as head coach (2021-23) after serving as associate head coach under Schroyer for his first three years. Despite a literal rebuilding process left from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, he led McNeese to its first Southland Conference Tournament victory since 2015 while winning games in the league tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time in a dozen years. During his final season at the helm, he guided the Cowboys to the Southland tournament semifinals before falling to eventual NCAA Tournament participant Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He coached two-time All-SLC honoree Christian Shumate and Johnathan Massie, the 2021-22 SLC Freshman of the Year.

Before joining McNeese, Aiken was the top assistant at Nicholls for two seasons under head coach Richie Riley. The Colonels collected 35 victories and a 22-14 mark in the Southland Conference during that span, capped off with a 21-11 record and a regular season league championship with a 15-3 record in 2017-18. That marked the program’s first winning season since 2008-09, aided by a unit that ranked in the top-five in the nation in steals and turnovers forced to go along with a top-25 national scoring offense. Aiken recruited three All-SLC honorees, two SLC All-Defensive Team performers and the 2017-18 SLC Newcomer of the Year.

Aiken’s first stop at UT Martin included the biggest turnaround in school history and fourth-largest in the NCAA Division I ranks in 2014-15 (13-win increase) and back-to-back postseason appearances in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The Skyhawks won 20 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1981-83 and the school’s first four postseason victories at the NCAA Division I level. UT Martin topped the nation with 12 road wins in 2014-15 before capturing its first-ever OVC West division title and advancing to the program’s first OVC Championship finals appearance in Aiken’s final season on the Skyhawk bench. Three UT Martin representatives nabbed All-OVC accolades while the Skyhawks landed a pair of OVC All-Newcomers in Aiken’s two seasons.

Prior to joining UT Martin in 2014, Aiken was head coach for two seasons at Belhaven – a NAIA university located in Jackson, Miss. He amassed 30 overall wins and a 22-16 record in Southern States Athletic Conference play as head coach. In 2013-14, he directed the Blazers to a 14-6 SSAC mark and a spot in the NAIA Division I National Tournament. He was the lead assistant for four seasons at Belhaven before taking over the head coaching reins, making two more trips to the NAIA national tournament (2010 and 2012). The Blazers went 24-10 during the 2009-10 campaign, earning a spot in the national tournament for the first time since 1972. All in all, he coached four honorable mention All-Americans, six all-division honorees and nine all-conference selections during his tenure at Belhaven.

Aiken’s first collegiate gig was as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of New England, a NCAA Division III school located in Biddeford, Maine. He helped the Nor’easters reach the 2008 Eastern College Athletic Conference New England Regional championship game after posting a 17-12 record.

A Portland, Maine native, Aiken additionally served as an assistant coach at Cheverus High School and Greater Portland Christian School in Maine before spending the last 17 seasons at the collegiate level.

Aiken earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Southern Maine in 2008 and completed his Master’s degree in sports leadership at Belhaven in 2013.