Chris Jans

Chris Jans
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamMississippi State
ConferenceSEC
Record53–28 (.654)
Biographical details
Born (1969-04-12) April 12, 1969 (age 55)
Fairbank, Iowa, U.S.
Playing career
1987–1991Loras
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–1994Elmhurst (assistant)
1994–1996Grand View (assistant)
1996–1998Kirkwood CC
1998–1999Independence CC
1999–2001Idaho (assistant)
2001–2003Howard JC
2003–2004Chipola
2004–2007Illinois State (assistant)
2007–2014Wichita State (assistant)
2014–2015Bowling Green
2015–2017Wichita State (special assistant)
2017–2022New Mexico State
2022–presentMississippi State
Head coaching record
Overall196–72 (.731) (college)
159–45 (.779) (junior college)
Tournaments1–5 (NCAA)
1–1 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NJCAA Division II tournament (1998)
2 ICCAC regular season (1997, 1998)
Panhandle regular season (2004)
4 WAC regular season (2018–2020, 2022)
3 WAC tournament (2018, 2019, 2022)
Awards
NJCAA Division II Coach of the Year (1998)
3× WAC Coach of the Year (2018–2020)

Christopher Paul Jans (born April 12, 1969) is the American college basketball head coach for Mississippi State. Jans previously coached at New Mexico State, where he led the Aggies from 2017 to 2022. Jans is a graduate of Loras College, and hails from Fairbank, Iowa.

Prior to New Mexico State, Jans was hired by Bowling Green in March 2014—his first Division I job. He led Bowling Green to its most wins in 13 years. However, on March 21—shortly after losing to Canisius in the 2nd round of the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, a drunken Jans was seen engaging in lewd and inappropriate behavior toward women at a bar near campus. A Bowling Green alumnus recorded Jans on his cell phone, and was so outraged by what he saw that he reported the incident to school officials.[1] Following an internal investigation, Bowling Green fired Jans for violating a morals clause in his contract.[2][3]

Jans led New Mexico State to a 27–7 record in 2021–22, including an NCAA Tournament victory. He finished with a 122–32 mark at New Mexico State, winning four regular-season and three Western Athletic Conference tournament championships. On March 20, 2022, Jans was hired as head coach at Mississippi State.[4]

Head coaching record

Junior college

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Kirkwood Eagles (Iowa Community College Athletic Conference) (1996–1998)
1996–97 Kirkwood 25–10 NJCAA Division II Tournament
1997–98 Kirkwood 31–6 NJCAA Division II Champion
Kirkwood: 56–16 (.778)
Independence Pirates (Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference) (1998–1999)
1998–99 Independence 22–10 14–4
Independence: 22–10 (.688) 14–4 (.778)
Howard College Hawks (Western Junior College Athletic Conference) (2001–2003)
2001–02 Howard College 20–10
2002–03 Howard College 29–4
Howard College: 49–14 (.778)
Chipola Indians (Panhandle Conference) (2003–2004)
2003–04 Chipola 32–5 11–1 1st NJCAA Division I Tournament
Chipola: 32–5 (.865) 11–1 (.917)
Total: 159–45 (.779)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

College

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Bowling Green Falcons (Mid-American Conference) (2014–2015)
2014–15 Bowling Green 21–12 11–7 3rd (East) CIT Second Round
Bowling Green: 21–12 (.636) 11–7 (.611)
New Mexico State Aggies (Western Athletic Conference) (2017–2022)
2017–18 New Mexico State 28–6 12–2 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2018–19 New Mexico State 30–5 15–1 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2019–20 New Mexico State 25–6 16–0 1st No postseason held
2020–21 New Mexico State 12–8 7–6 3rd
2021–22 New Mexico State 27–7 14–4 T–1st NCAA Division I Round of 32
New Mexico State: 122–32 (.792) 64–13 (.831)
Mississippi State Bulldogs (Southeastern Conference) (2022–present)
2022–23 Mississippi State 21–13 8–10 T–9th NCAA Division I First Four
2023–24 Mississippi State 21–14 8–10 9th NCAA Division I Round of 64
2024–25 Mississippi State 11–1 0–0
Mississippi State: 53–28 (.654) 16–20 (.444)
Total: 196–72 (.731)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

source[5]

Personal life

Jans resides in Starkville with his wife Sheri.

References

  1. ^ Wagner, John (April 3, 2015). "BGSU fires first-year basketball coach Chris Jans". The Blade.
  2. ^ "Men's Basketball Leadership Change Announced".
  3. ^ Thamel, Pete (April 2, 2015). "Video shows Bowling Green coach Chris Jans slapping woman's buttocks". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  4. ^ Stephenson, Creg (March 20, 2022). "Mississippi State hires New Mexico State's Chris Jans as basketball coach". Al.com. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  5. ^ "Falcon Fodder: Men's Basketball". Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.