The Morehead State Eagles are an NCAA Division I men's basketball team that represents

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky, United States. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-yea ...

in Morehead,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, United States. The school is a charter member of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

and has competed in the OVC since its inception in 1948. Morehead State has appeared in the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

nine times, most recently in 2024.

Program summary

The Eagles are the lone charter member of the OVC that still currently competes in the conference. Morehead State has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances, with the most recent coming during the 2023–24 season. MSU has won a total of 17 OVC Championship, with 11 regular season titles and six OVC Tournament championships. MSU's 17 OVC championships are the most won by any current OVC member, while the Eagles' six OVC Tournament titles is also tops amongst the current set of OVC squads. The most recent OVC title came during the 2023–24 season, when the Eagles collected a share of the regular season crown and won the 2024 OVC Tournament. The Eagles were most recently coached by Preston Spradlin, who resigned after his eighth season at Morehead State. Spradlin guided the Eagles to four-straight 20-win seasons for the first time in program history from 2020–24. Morehead State set the program record for most wins in a season during the 2023–24 season, as the Eagles collected a total of 26 wins. Jonathan Mattox, previously associate head coach, was named as the 15th head coach in the program's history.

Postseason results

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Eagles have appeared in nine NCAA Tournaments, with the most recent coming during the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Morehead State is a combined record is 6–10 in the NCAA Tournament. The six NCAA tournament wins are the most by any current

member and are the second-most in OVC history, behind former member Western Kentucky. Additionally, MSU’s nine tournament appearances are third-most in OVC history.

NIT results

The Eagles have appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

one time. Their combined record is 1–1.

CBI results

The Eagles have appeared in three

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI sel ...

(CBI). Their combined record is 5–4.

NAIA

The Eagles have appeared in the NAIA Basketball Tournament once, their record is 0–1.

Eagles in the NBA

Morehead State has had a total of seven former Eagles play in an NBA game.

Xavier Moon Xavier Moon (born January 2, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Zenit Saint Petersburg of the VTB United League. He played college basketball for Northwest Florida State and Morehead State. The nephew of former NBA basketb ...

is the most recent Morehead State alum to play in the NBA. Moon is currently in his third season with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

, playing on a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the Clippers and the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

’s

Ontario Clippers The San Diego Clippers are a professional basketball team based in San Diego County, California, that competes in the NBA G League. The team plays its home games at Frontwave Arena. The Clippers began play in the 2017–18 NBA G League season, 20 ...

, as of the 2023–24 season.

Kenneth Faried Kenneth Bernard Faried Lewis ( ; born November 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Reggiana of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Known as "the Manimal" due to his hustle on the court, he attended Morehea ...

is Morehead State’s highest NBA Draft pick, as he is the school’s lone first round pick. Faried was selected as the No. 17 overall pick by the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

in the First Round of the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponso ...

. He would go on to play the most NBA games by an Eagle, as he logged 478 career appearances over eight seasons with the Nuggets,

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

, and

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

from 2011–19. Faried scored 5,430 points and pulled down 3,884 rebounds in the NBA, both are the most by a Morehead State player. ''List of Morehead State players that played in the NBA'' *

(2021– Pres.) *

(2011–19) * Bob McCann (1989–98) * Lamar Green (1969–75) * Henry Akin (1966–68) * Steve Hamilton (1958–60) * Dan Swartz (1962–63)

Eagles in international leagues

Demonte Harper Demonte Tyrone Harper (born June 21, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Élan Chalon of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball at Morehead State University. High school career Harper attended Whites Creek High School in ...

(born 1989), basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Karam Mashour (born 1991), plays in the

References

External links

* {{Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball navbox