Harriers Basketball Coaching Staff

Head Coach 

Coach Piatt enters his sixth season leading the Harriers Men's Basketball Program. Losing his first year to the Pandemic, Piatt made up for the lost season by building the Harriers into one of the top programs in the USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association). In the past four seasons, the Harriers have 80 wins and 37 losses and two Elite Eight, a National Runner-Up, and a National Championship in the USCAA National Tournaments. 

The 2024-25 season will be one for the record books as Piatt led the Harriers to 22 wins and 7 losses and Miami University's first National Championship.  The adage that "Defense Wins" was certainly true of this team.  The Harriers had the number 1 Team Defense in the USCAA giving up only 61.4 points per game.  Entering the USCAA National Tournament with the #3 ranking in the final pole, the Harriers went to Buffalo, New York on a mission.  Defeating Penn State-York in the round of Eight by a score of 76-60, then defeating #2 ranked UC-Clermont in the semi-finals by a score of 80-65 the Harriers moved into the Finals to face Penn State-Schuykill for the championship.  Falling behind twice by 11 points, the Harriers did what they did all season, put together a string of defensive stops to take their first lead with 3:00 to go in the game.  The Harriers hung on to win the game 53-52 securing Miami University's first National Championship.  Senior Michael Keehan/Elder High School was named to the All Tournament Team and Second Team All-American.  Junior Cory Davis/Mason High School was named Most Valuable Player of the National Tournament and First Team All-American.

The 2023-24 season got off to a slow start for the Harriers and in mid-January, the Harriers had a record of 5-10.  The Harriers then proceeded to finish the season strong, winning ten of their final 12 games.  In that stretch, the Harriers defeated #1 UC-Clermont by 28 points and #4 Kent State - Tuscarawas by 14 points.  This was good enough for the Harriers to qualify for their third straight USCAA National Tournament as the sixth seed.  The Harriers lost in the Elite Eight to Penn State-York to finish the season with 16 wins and 13 losses.  Senior Ryan Marchal from Centerville earned First Team All-American honors for the Harriers.

The 2022-23 season saw the Harriers make school history by playing in their first National Championship Game in Men's Basketball.  The Harriers finished the season as the USCAA National Runner-Up with 22 wins and 9 losses.  The 2022-23 team led the USCAA in three-point percentage (for the second season in a row), was second in free throw percentage, third in points allowed per game, and fourth in field goal percentage.  The Harriers also had a second-team All-American in junior Ryan Marchal from Centerville.

Piatt led the Harriers to a record of 20 wins and 8 losses in the 2021-22 season. Finishing in the Elite Eight of the USCAA National Tournament. This season saw the Harriers lead the USCAA in three-point field goal percentage, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage. This team also produced three All-Americans: First Team, Sophmore - Ryan Marchal from Centerville, Second Team, Junior - King Goss from Twinsburg, and Honorable Mention, Junior - Jamison Bradley from Lima Central Catholic.

After playing and graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University, Piatt started his 37-year coaching career as an Assistant Coach at his Alma Mater. In 1987-88 he helped Ohio Wesleyan University to the NCAA Division III National Championship.

In 1989-90, Piatt became the Assistant Men's Basketball Coach/Head Men's Golf Coach at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. In 1990, he came back to Ohio as the Athletic Director/Head Men's Basketball Coach at The Ohio State University Lima Campus. In that year he led OSU-Lima to the Ohio Regional Campus Conference Championship.

For the next twenty-nine years, Coach Piatt has been the head coach at Lehman Catholic, Miami Valley, and New Knoxville High Schools. In 2007, he was named Southwest District Coach of the Year. He has also coached as an assistant at Chaminade Julienne and Tippecanoe High Schools.

With his strong connections with the high school basketball coaches in Ohio, he continues to bring strong student-athletes to the Hamilton Campus of Miami University. His teams have a reputation for playing hard, playing together, and being difficult to guard on the offensive end of the floor.

In 2011, he was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 1988 Ohio Wesleyan University's National Championship Team.

Mike and his wife, Sandy, live in Vandalia, Ohio, and have three grown children: Austin and his wife Becca, Kaylee, and Megan and one grandchild, George.

Coach Piatt's Overall Collegiate Record: 98 Wins, 48 Losses, .671 Winning Percentage

Coach Piatt's Overall Coaching Record: 175 Wins, 168 Losses, .510 Winning Percentage

Coach Piatt's Record at Miami University - Hamilton: 80 Wins, 37 Losses, .683 Winning Percentage

2024-25 Season:  22 Wins, 7 Losses, USCAA National Champions
2023-24 Season:  16 Wins, 13Losses, Elite Eight in USCAA National Tournament
2022-23 Season: 22 Wins, 9 Losses, USCAA National Runner-Up
2021-22 Season: 20 Wins, 8 Losses, Elite Eight in USCAA National Tournament

All-Americans Coached by Coach Piatt

2024-25, Cory Davis/Mason, First Team, Michael Keehan/Elder, Second Team
2023-24, Ryan Marchal/Centerville, First Team
2022-23, Ryan Marchal/Centerville, Second Team
2021-22, Ryan Marchal/Centerville - First Team, King Goss/Twinsburg - Second Team, and Jamison Bradley/Lima Central Catholic - Honorable Mention

Contact information: (937) 405-9991 or piattm@miamioh.edu.

Assistant Coach

Coach Chris Jones coached for four years at Wright State University Lake Campus, and two years as an assistant (2016-2018) under Coach Richard Westerlund.  In 2018 Coach Jones was hired as the Men’s Head Basketball Coach to lead the Lakers. Coach Jones completed his 2nd season as Head Coach in 2019-2020.

Prior to coaching, Coach Jones played in several leagues and assisted in community basketball. His passion for basketball began at a young age, he played at John Hay High School in Cleveland, Ohio where he is also a native. After playing high school basketball, Coach Jones continued his basketball journey at Thiel College, majoring in Business Administration for two years. After leaving Thiel College Coach Jones enlisted in the United States Army to serve his country and became a member of the 72nd Brigade 13 Bravo Artillery unit in Wurzburg, Germany. During his term in Germany, he also played professionally for the German sports league DJK Sports Association in Wurzburg, Germany for 3 years.

Coach Jones later returned to his native Cleveland where he assisted the Legendary Bob Nance at Bob Nance Basketball Academy (BNBA has been a fixture in Cleveland for over three decades), a local basketball camp for boys and girls, and has helped develop many College and NBA players. Before returning to college and receiving his Culinary Arts degree from Le Cordon Bleu Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts in 2009. Coach Jones currently lives in Englewood Ohio with his wife Roslyn and daughter Amari.

Contact information:  (937) 529-9952 or chrisjchrisjay@gmail.com 
 

Assistant Coach