Wake Forest Basketball Adds Jason Shay as Assistant Coach

Wake Forest basketball has added former ETSU head coach Jason Shay as an assistant coach.

Shay was an assistant for current Wake Forest Head Coach Steve Forbes in his five years at ETSU and helped the Buccaneers to a 130-43 record with two regular season championships and two SoCon tournament championships over that time. When Forbes accepted the Wake Forest job in 2020, Shay was the obvious choice to take over the vacancy and was named as the head coach for ETSU. Shay finished the 2020-21 season with a 13-12 record, including a 8-7 record in conference play. Shay resigned as the head coach of the Buccaneers at the end of the season stating that it was “the right time for a new challenge,” but many (including former players) believe he was forced out due to his support of players kneeling during the national anthem.

While Shay spent five seasons with Forbes at ETSU, their history actually goes all the way back to their time as assistants under Bruce Pearl for Tennessee from 2006-2011. Shay then followed Forbes to Northwest Florida State College before and later ETSU as an assistant coach.

This is a fantastic pickup for the Wake Forest basketball team. Someone who has been with the head coach for over a decade, knows how he thinks, what type of players he wants to recruit, and just understands his overall goals for the team and the players is an invaluable resource for any head coach. The pair has been wildly successful together, helping their teams reach a 315-101 overall record in the 12 years they have coached together, so I have no doubts that they are about to bringing a winning culture back to Winston Salem.

Welcome to Wake Forest Coach Shay, and GO DEACS!