Gannon University Athletics

Kelvin Jefferson was named head coach at Gannon on April 30, 2019. Jefferson is the 19th head coach in program history and enters his fourth season in 2022-23. He owns a 38-30 record in three seasons with appearances in the PSAC Tournament both seasons it was contested.
 
Jefferson brings 27 years of coaching experience with him to Erie, including 12 seasons as a Division I assistant and eight as head coach of the elite prep team at South Kent School in Connecticut. Success has followed Jefferson at every coaching stop.
 
Jefferson’s third edition made the PSAC Tournament for the second time. The conference did not sponsor a postseason tournament during the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The 2021-22 Golden Knights ended the year with a 14-13 record and went 11-11 in PSAC West action despite an inordinate number of injuries that sapped Gannon of several key performers for extended stretches. Jefferson would use eight different starting lineups for the season while having leading returning scorer Chris Clancy for just five games and top scorer Ike Herster for just 12 games. The duo represented Gannon’s top outside threats.
 
The Golden Knights jumped out to a fast 7-2 start, capturing the title in the Gary Miller Classic for the first time since 2017. Gannon handled D’Youville a 99-63 loss the opening night, then held off Saint Michael’s, 86-76, in the championship game. Demetrius Mims had 29 points and nine rebounds in the title game and was the MVP.
 
Gannon won four of five games in December, all against PSAC competition. January began with a hard-fought 68-63 loss against seventh-ranked Mercyhurst, but the Golden Knights moved to 8-3 with a win at Seton Hill. Unfortunately, January proved to be a month of numerous postponements due to COVID protocols. After the win at Seton Hill, they would not play again for almost two weeks.
 
When finally returning to action, Gannon lost four of five games in a span of 11 days. February began with three games in six days, all wins. That included a 67-66 upset of Pitt-Johnstown as Gannon improved to 12-7 overall and 9-6 in the PSAC West.
 
The injuries, including the loss of backcourt stalwarts Chris Clancy, Ike Herster and Braden Olsen, plus the hectic schedule finally caught up with Jefferson’s squad. The Gannon coach scrambled to find enough healthy bodies and proceeded to lose five straight games. Loss number six appeared imminent as Gannon trailed at Clarion by 18 points late in the first half. Fueled by a 21-2 run, Gannon pulled away for a 79-65 win behind 34 points from Lance-Amir Paul. Paul would go on to earn second team All-PSAC West accolades.
 
The rally over Clarion was followed by an 87-83 upset of California (Pa.) to end the regular season. Gannon, the sixth seed in the PSAC West, faced another 20-win team, third-seeded Pitt-Johnstown, in the opening round of the PSAC Tournament. After two close games that came down to the final seconds in the regular season, the Mountain Cats concluded Gannon’s season with a 78-62 win.  
 
Jefferson helped Gannon navigate a challenging year in his second season at the helm in 2020-21. The Golden Knights posted a 10-4 overall record despite not getting the season underway until January and playing an independent schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gannon jumped out to an 8-0 record, the best start to a season since 2008-09. The stretch was highlighted by back-to-back wins over then No. 25 Daemen and marked the first time Gannon upended a top 25 opponent since 2014-15. Following the wins over the Wildcats, Jefferson was tabbed HoopDirt.com NCAA DII Coach of the Week on Feb. 1.
 
The Golden Knights climbed as high as No. 21 in the NABC Top 25 Poll in 2021-22. It was the first time Gannon was ranked in the top 25 since the 2012-13 season. The Golden Knights proved to be a solid defensive team and were positioned second in the nation in field goal percent defense (38.5), sixth in three-point field goal defense (29.6) and ninth in rebounds per game (41.14).
 
In his first season in 2019-20, Jefferson built a foundation and guided the Golden Knights to a fifth-place finish in the PSAC West with a 14-13 overall record and 13-9 in the PSAC. Gannon capped the season making its ninth appearance in the PSAC Tournament. The Golden Knights leaned on a defense that finished fourth in the PSAC and held their opponents to 60 points or less in eight games. Gannon proved to be one of the best rebounding teams in the PSAC finishing the season second in rebounding margin. The Golden Knights also ranked third in both free throw percentage and steals in the PSAC in 2019-20.
 
Jefferson earned his first career win with a 71-62 victory over Millersville on Nov. 24 and Gannon would later pick up its second straight win after rolling past Alderson Broaddus, 81-74, in the first round of the annual Gary Miller Classic. Gannon almost made it three straight wins in the Gary Miller Classic championship game before their comeback effort fell short in the final seconds to then No. 11 Ashland, 81-76.
 
Gannon ran off five straight wins later in the season, including a 74-47 road win over rival Edinboro. The Knights capped the hot streak with an 82-76 win on the road over Seton Hill behind a season-high 32 made free throws. The performance marked the most made free throws in a game in program history since the 2010-11 season.
 
Under the guidance of Jefferson, Gannon earned four PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Week honors and three PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week accolades. Jefferson also helped produce two All-PSAC selections in 2019-20. DeAnte Cisero and Frank Webb Jr. were both named to the All-PSAC West Second Team for the first time in their careers.
 
Before coming to Gannon, Jefferson spent three seasons as an assistant at Division I Old Dominion under head coach Jeff Jones. He helped the Monarchs go 70-28 during that period, capping the run with the 2018-19 Conference USA regular season and tournament title and the program's first NCAA tournament berth since 2011.
 
Old Dominion improved upon its record and finish in each of the three seasons Jefferson was on its bench, going from 19-12 overall and the Conference USA quarterfinals in 2016-17 to 25-7 overall and the conference semifinals in 2017-18 before the championship breakthrough in 2018-19 with a 26-9 ledger. Five ODU players earned all-conference honors during his stay in Norfolk, Virginia, including three first-teamers and the 2018-19 Conference USA Player of the Year in B.J. Stith, who also earned Associated Press honorable mention All-American laurels.
 
Prior to returning to the college ranks, Jefferson led the South Kent School prep team in Connecticut from 2008 to 2016, guiding the Cardinals to an overall record of 131-76. He helped tutor eight future NBA players, including 2012 Big East Rookie of the Year Moe Harkless of St. John's, Louisville All-American and national champion Russ Smith, All-American and 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year Nik Stauskas of Michigan,  Seton Hall All-American Myles Powell and 2020 recipient of the Jerry West Award, given to the nation’s top shooting guard, and 2019-20 All-ACC First Team selection Elijah Hughes, who went on to be selected in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.
 
In all, over 50 players who came through South Kent during Jefferson's time there signed with a Division I program. He also coached two Connecticut Gatorade Players of the Year in Matt Moyer and Tremont Waters.
 
Before taking the head coaching job at South Kent, Jefferson served as an assistant at four different Division I programs over a span of nine seasons. In one season at Colgate, he helped the 2007-08 Raiders go 18-14 overall -- tying the program record for single-season wins -- and reach the Patriot League tournament championship game. The two years prior to that were spent as recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Stony Brook from 2005 to 2007. His 2006-07 recruiting class was ranked 27th in the country by Hoopscooponline.com.
 
From 2001 to 2005, Jefferson spent his first stint on a staff of current Old Dominion coach Jeff Jones, working with Jones at American. In his first season, Jefferson helped engineer the second-best turnaround season in Division I in 2001-02, as the Eagles improved by 11 wins to finish 18-12 overall to win the Patriot League regular season championship.
 
American would return to the top of the conference again two years later, earning the Patriot League regular season title in 2003-04. In four seasons in Washington, D.C., Jefferson helped the Eagles go 69-50 overall with three trips to the conference tournament championship game. He helped coach seven all-conference performers, including 2002 Patriot League Player of the Year and AP All-American Patrick Doctor, while players earned a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll 14 times.
 
Jefferson's first crack at Division I came with two seasons at Vermont. The 1999-00 version of the Catamounts matched a Division I program record with 16 victories and went 11-7 in the America East. His recruiting helped Vermont kick start a sustained run of success that lasts to today, with 20-win seasons in 18 of the past 21 years, as he brought in 2001 America East Rookie of the Year and 2002 Player of the Year T.J. Sorrentine, as well as three-time Player of the Year Taylor Coppenrath.
 
Jefferson began his coaching career as an assistant at a trio of Division III schools. Just before heading to Vermont, Jefferson coached two championship seasons at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, helping the Mariners to Skyline Conference titles and NCAA tournament berths in both 1997-98 and 1998-99. In one season at Salem State in Salem, Massachusetts, he helped the Vikings win the MASCAC championship and reach the NCAA round of 16 in 1996-97. Jefferson's first coaching job was in 1995-96 at Wesleyan in Connecticut.
 
A native of Norwalk, Connecticut, Jefferson received his bachelor's degree in Journalism from Southern Connecticut State in 1995. He played three seasons as a forward for the Division II Owls, averaging 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 75 career games. He pulled in 20 rebounds in a game against New Hampshire College during his senior season on his way to leading the New England Collegiate Conference in rebounding during the 1994-95 campaign with 9.2 per game. He began his college career with one season at Clark University in Massachusetts.
 
Jefferson was a captain of the SCSU team during his senior season, and off the court, he was a sports writer for the student newspaper, as well as a member of the Black Student Union and Student Advisory Committee. He also worked as a sports intern at the Connecticut Post newspaper.
 
Jefferson resides in Erie with his two sons – Jaedan (20) and Tyler (15). He received his Master of Arts degree in Strategic Communication from Gannon in December 2022.

Updated June 17, 2022

 

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Jefferson Year-By-Year Results

Year	Team	Overall	Pct.	PSAC	Result	Postseason
2019-20	Gannon	14-13	.519	13-9	5th West	PSAC Tournament
2020-21	Gannon	10-4	.714	--	--	--
2021-22	Gannon	14-13	.519	11-11	6th West	PSAC Tournament
Total		38-30	.559	24-20

Note: Gannon played an independent schedule in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.