Having lost four starters, the Jamestown boys basketball team will have a new look for the 2018-19 season. The Eagles will have a new coach on the bench as well.
Jamestown has named Jay Thompson as the Eagles' next head coach, replacing Seth Thomas, who left to take the head-coaching position with the South Callaway boys.
"What Seth has done (at Jamestown) is awesome, and I hope we continue the success he's developed," Thompson said.
Thompson, 23, graduated earlier this month from Central Methodist University. He will teach physical education and health in grades K-12 at Jamestown, as well as coach junior high basketball for the Eagles.
"I wanted to try and stay in the area," Thompson said. "I know they had a lot of success last year, and from what I hear, the community support is through the roof there. I think that's an exciting thing to come to."
While attending college, Thompson picked up plenty of coaching experience along the way at his high school alma mater.
Thompson spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Glasgow girls basketball team. He helped coach the Lady Jackets during the 2015-16 and 2017-18 seasons. Each season, Glasgow reached the Class 1 Final Four, finishing in fourth place.
Thompson, who also appeared in a Final Four his junior season with the Glasgow boys basketball team, said there were a few nerves coming back home to coach.
"When you're playing there, winning is expected," Thompson said. "We just played ball, we didn't worry about the results. But looking at it from a coach's perspective, you have so much more to worry about."
Thompson coached alongside his older sister, Molly Monnig, while at Glasgow.
"It was great," Thompson said. "Molly is such a good coach. The biggest thing I learned from her wasn't really the Xs and Os of basketball. It was dealing with players' personalities. How she was able to motivate different personalities on a basketball team was just beyond belief for me."
In addition to his assistant coaching job, Thompson spent the past five seasons as head coach for St. Mary's School in Glasgow, two years with the girls and three years with the boys.
He said he's eager for his first head-coaching job at the high-school level.
"I met with the players (last Wednesday), introduced myself and got to know them a little bit," Thompson said.
"I told them what the summer is going to look like, but with the baseball team having success, we're holding off on basketball camp until their season is finished."
Jamestown posted a 26-3 record last season, winning its first district title in 38 years. The Eagles had five all-conference players, but only one returns next season.
"In our eyes, we expect to be competitive in every game we play," Thompson said. "They're young and they have a lot to learn. Hopefully I can learn as much from them as they learn from me."