Jon Perry enters his second season as the head coach of the Mids and his 14th at the Naval Academy in the fall of 2026. He was named the 20th head coach of the program on March 19, 2025.
At Navy / Head Coach (2025-26)
Perry guided the Mids to one of the program’s best seasons in a generation during his inaugural 2025-26 campaign. Navy compiled an overall record of 26-8, won the Patriot League regular season title with a 17-1 record and earned a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. The team also ended the academic year with an overall grade-point average of 2.98.
The 26-win mark has been surpassed by only one Navy team, the 1985-86 squad that posted a 30-5 record en route to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Mids won their first outright regular season league title since 1997 as they tied the league record for the most victories in a season.
Navy advanced to a national postseason tournament for the first time since 1998 and made its second NIT appearance (1962).
The Mids also spent much of the latter half of the season in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll (ended the year ranked 21st) and also garnered votes in the Associated Press Poll for the first time since 2008.
Individually, Austin Benigni became the second Mid and first in 22 years to be named the Patriot League Player of the Year, the fifth Navy player and first in 25 seasons to be named the league’s scholar-athlete of the year and the fifth player in league history to win both awards in the same season. Benigni also was named the College Insider Lou Henson Player of the Year (top mid-major player of the year), was an NABC Second-Team All-District honoree and earned Second Team All-ECAC accolades. He ended his career ranked third at Navy in points (1,923), fourth in assists (483) and first in games played (130), free throws made (618) and free throw percentage (86.2%).
Also garnering multiple honors was Aidan Kehoe, who was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year (the second Mid to earn the honor and the first in a decade), the USBWA Mid-Major February Player of the Month and became the first Mid since David Robinson in 1987 to lead the NCAA in a statistical category with his first goal percentage of 73.1 percent.
Perry himself helmed the Patriot League Coaching Staff of the Year, earned the College Insider Hugh Durham Award (top mid-major coach) and was a finalist for the organization’s Jim Phelan Award (top head coach) and Joe B. Hall Award (top first-year head coach).
At Navy / Assistant Coach / Associate Head Coach (2013-14 to 2024-25)
Perry spent 12 seasons at Navy under head coach Ed DeChellis, the first eight as an assistant coach and the last four as an associate head coach. He played a vital role in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, player development, scouting, offensive game planning, leadership development, alumni engagement, and program culture.
The Mids compiled an 82-64 overall record and a 53-32 mark against league foes over Perry’s last five seasons before he was elevated to head coach. The Mids reached the league tournament final in 2022 and 2025, which were the first times they had advanced to the championship game since 2001. Navy also won its division in 2021, placed second in the league in 2022, tied for second in 2023 and tied for third in 2025.
Navy put together an overall record of 185-181 with two 20-win seasons during Perry’s 12 seasons. The Mids also recorded six winning Patriot League seasons and finished with a 111-100 record in league regular season games during this span.
Navy finished in a tie for fourth place during the 2015-16 season when the Mids were 9-9 against league foes (19-14 overall) and then had a fourth-place finish in 2016-17 when they posted a 10-8 record in league play and were 16-16 against all opponents.
The team’s 2017-18 campaign saw the Mids reach the 20-win plateau (20-12) for the first time in 18 seasons and post a league record of 11-7. It marked Navy’s first appearance in the semifinal round of the league tournament since the Mids advanced to the championship game of the 2001 event.
The Mids, who had one senior and 11 freshmen on the roster in 2019-20, posted an 8-10 record to tie for sixth place, then with a more experienced team 2020-21 compiled a 15-3 overall record and a 12-1 record during the Patriot League’s regular season. In addition to defeating Georgetown for the first time since the 1976-77 season, the Mids also earned the outright No. 1 seed in the league tournament for the first time since 1997.
The 2021-22 campaign saw Navy open the season with a victory at No. 25 Virginia. That win began a year which ended with a 21-11 overall record, a second-place finish in the Patriot League regular season with a 12-6 mark and the program’s first trip to the league tournament title game in 21 years.
The 2022-23 campaign saw the Mids post an overall record of 18-13 and tie for second place in the league with an 11-7 record.
Navy then tied for third place in the league in 2024-25 with a 10-8 record as part of a 15-19 overall record. The Mids proceeded to go on the road for victories in the league tournament at No. 5 Boston U. and No. 1 Bucknell to reach the championship game of the postseason for the second time in four seasons.
Among the notable Patriot League awards won by Navy players under Perry he mentored on the court and in the classroom were Hasan Abdullah (2019 third team), Shawn Anderson (2017 second team, 2018 first team), John Carter Jr. (2019 all-rookie team, 2022 second team), Cam Davis (2020 second team, 2021 first team), Daniel Deaver (2023 first team), Tilman Dunbar (2023 all-rookie team, 2016 third team), Will Kelly (2016 defensive player of the year, 2016 second team), Tyler Nelson (2023 third team), Worth Smith (2012 all-rookie team, 2015 first team) and Sean Yoder (2023 second team). Davis also received NABC First-Team All-District honors and was a CSC Third-Team Academic All-American in 2021.
Collegiate Playing Career (1997-98 to 2001-02)
Perry played four seasons in his five years at East Tennessee State (he redshirted due to an injury in 1999-2000), during which time he attained a Bachelor of Science in sport management. His teams posted a trio of winning seasons and compiled a five-year overall record of 78-62. The Buccaneers also finished with an overall Southern Conference record of 47-42, won their division during his junior year and tied for the division title when he was a senior.
At East Tennessee State (2002-03 to 2003-04)
Perry began his coaching career at his alma mater. He joined DeChellis’ staff as a graduate assistant immediately after finishing his playing career in the spring of 2002. The Bucs tallied a 47-17 overall record, won a pair of Southern Conference division titles with a two-year SoCon record of 26-6 and won two conference tournament crowns. ETSU would advance to the NCAA Tournament in each of his two seasons, with the Bucs losing each of those two games by three points. ETSU first lost an 75-72 decision to No. 2 seed Wake Forest, then dropped an 80-77 decision to No. 4 seed Cincinnati.
Zakee Wadood was a two-time first-team all-league performer while Tim Smith and Jerald Fields were received first-team honors in Perry’s second of two seasons at ETSU as it began its ascent to being one of the top mid-major program’s in the NCAA.
He also served as the campus intramural director during his two years on the staff while he earned a Master of Arts in sports management from the school.
At Penn State (2004-05 to 2009-10)
Perry rejoined DeChellis at Penn State after two years at ETSU. He served four seasons as the program’s video coordinator before becoming the operations director for two years. Perry’s responsibilities included overseeing video operations, scouting preparation, recruiting logistics, team travel, camps and many aspects of the day-to-day administration of a Big Ten basketball program.
His six-season tenure at the school was highlighted by the Nittany Lions winning the 2009 NIT title. Penn State posted an overall record of 27-11 that season to set a school record for the most victories in a year.
One of the key players during the team’s run to cutting down the nets in Madison Square Garden was Talor Battle, who earned honorable mention All-America honors, received multiple All-Big Team Conference accolades and left Happy Valley as the school’s leading scorer. Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley also were decorated players during Perry’s tenure at the school as each received all-conference accolades in multiple seasons and garnered NABC All-District laurels.
At Quincy (2010-11 to 2012-13)
Perry left Penn State one year before the Nittany Lions won its first Big Ten Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade to become an assistant coach at Quincy in Quincy, Ill. He was the lead assistant at the Division II school for three seasons, during which time the program compiled an overall record of 46-35. The Hawks won their division in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in his first season, after which he was elevated to associate head coach. His players garnered five all-conference accolades –– including two-time recipient Courtney Belger –– one all-region honor and 12 academic all-conference nods in his three seasons at the school.
Personal
The native of Milton, W.Va., his wife, Stacey, and their daughters, Charlotte (5) and Josephine (2), reside in Annapolis.
