Zach Carpenter - Men's Basketball Coach

Zach Carpenter

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
zcarpent@utm.edu
Phone:
731-881-7668

Zach Carpenter is in his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Skyhawks in 2020-21.

Last season, Carpenter oversaw the development of Quintin Dove and Parker Stewart - each of whom garnered All-Ohio Valley Conference and NABC All-District 18 accolades. Dove became the first Skyhawk to lead the OVC in scoring (22.3 points per game) in league play since two-time All-American Lester Hudson accomplished that feat in 2008-09. Dove was the only Division I player in the nation to average at least 20 points and seven rebounds per outing while shooting better than 78 percent from the charity stripe. Stewart brought home five OVC Newcomer of the Week awards in 2019-20, joining Hudson as the only players in school history to win that award at least five times. Stewart was the lone NCAA Division I player to average at least 19.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 three-point field goals made per game.

The 2018-19 campaign saw UT Martin notch an OVC Championship tournament victory, as the Skyhawks knocked off Eastern Illinois in the opening round. UT Martin won six of nine games down the stretch thanks in large part to the duo of All-OVC second teamer Quintin Dove and Craig Randall II, who combined to win six OVC Newcomer of the Week honors.

During his first season, Carpenter helped oversee a UT Martin program that produced four different OVC weekly honorees - which were tied for the second-most in a single season in school history. Fatodd Lewis (Player of the Week on Dec. 11), Delfincko Bogan (Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 12), Parrish Hewitt (Freshman of the Week on Dec. 11) and Dominique Williams (Nov. 13) each earned weekly recognition by the OVC in 2017-18.

Carpenter came to UT Martin from Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he had worked for head coach Hank Plona. Carpenter developed over a decade's worth of coaching experience to while helping build and continue rich hardwood traditions at John A. Logan College, Wabash Valley College and Louisburg College since 2008.

During his time at John A. Logan, Carpenter served as an assistant under head coach Kyle Smithpeters – helping the Volunteers to 132-60 record over six seasons. Carpenter helped John A. Logan post four consecutive 20-plus win seasons, including a 2016-17 campaign where the Volunteers swept the Great Rivers Athletic Conference and Region 24 regular season championships. Carpenter was also an integral part of a John A. Logan program that advanced to the NJCAA Division-I national tournament after going 27-7 in 2014-15.

In 2011-12, Carpenter served as interim head coach at John A. Logan for six weeks, coinciding with the retirement of previous head coach Mark Imhoff. He helped lead the Volunteers to a 16-12 record in his debut season at the junior college program located in Carterville, Ill.

Carpenter spent a pair of seasons working for legendary Hall of Fame head coach Dan Sparks at Wabash Valley, which is located in Mount Carmel, Ill. In Carpenter’s two seasons as an assistant, the Warriors combined for a 58-11 record (including a 26-6 slate in league play). Wabash Valley captured the GRAC regular season title in 2010-11 and went on to play in the NJCAA Division-I national tournament as Carpenter helped mentor a dozen student-athletes who furthered their careers at four-year institutions.

Prior to his stint at WVC, Carpenter was an assistant coach for the 2008-09 season at Louisburg College in Louisburg, NC. He helped the Hurricanes go 21-8 and helped pave the way for a Hurricane program that advanced to the NJCAA Division-II national championship game this past spring.

Carpenter’s first job in collegiate athletics was as a director of basketball operations at Tennessee Tech University. He spent two years (2006-08) filling that role for head coach Mike Sutton as the Golden Eagles went 19-13 overall with a 13-7 OVC record in 2006-07, including an eight-game winning streak in league play.

Following a stellar prep career at Bradley Central High School, Carpenter was a standout performer for head coach Lennie Acuff at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. A three-time All-Gulf South Conference honoree, Carpenter still ranks fifth in Charger history in all-time points (1,548) and career rebounds (607) while leading UAH to 70 victories in four seasons. He helped the Chargers claim the GSC championship and make an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002-03 and generated team-highs of 19.7 points and 6.3 rebounds as a senior – garnering 2003-04 GSC Player of the Year accolades.

Carpenter followed that by playing one year of professional basketball in Denmark before starting his collegiate basketball administration career at Tennessee Tech.

A Cleveland, Tenn. native, Carpenter graduated from Lee University in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems. He earned his Master’s degree in instructional leadership from Tennessee Tech in 2008.