John Meeks has been named men's head basketball coach at Wallace State-Hanceville Community College. The announcement was made by President Vicki Hawsey this week. 

“I am confident that Coach Meeks will continue to move our program forward, building on the outstanding success of Coach Allen Sharpe,” Dr. Hawsey said. 

Meeks previously coached Louisburg College, posting an overall record since 2008 of 51-15.  During the 2009-2010 season, Louisburg was NJCAA Region X Tournament champions, and advanced to the Final Eight of the National Tournament, compiling a record of 29-7, Meeks was named 2010 District 15 Coach of the Year.   

“Allen did a great job and left some major shoes to fill,” said Meeks. “Wallace State has a first class program in athletics, academics, and in the community. The sky’s the limit to what we can accomplish here.” 

Sharpe left the Lions to accept the head coach position at the University of Arkansas at Monticello in May. He coached five years at Wallace State. During his tenure, Sharpe was 136-30 and led the Lions their first NJCAA National Tournament appearance and a fifth place finish. Wallace State-Hanceville was undefeated in 2008-2009 and ranked No. 1 in the nation.   

Prior to Louisburg, Meeks served three years as assistant coach at NAIA Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. During his final season there, the Flames finished 33-2 with a Southern States Athletic Conference Championship and an Elite Eight finish at the NAIA National Tournament. He also served as Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Martin Methodist College and as assistant men’s basketball coach and  head Men’s Junior Varsity Basketball Coach at Bluefield College in Virginia.   

In eight years of collegiate coaching Meeks has more than 200 wins with six national tournament appearances.  

He holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Houston, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Bluefield College.