Inductees

The plan was to help his alma mater hire a new head coach for the men’s basketball team, head out to a high school near St. Louis and start a coaching career like so many others.

However, Central Methodist University had different plans for Jeff Sherman in the mid-1980s. Yes, he was all of 24. Yet the administration saw something in him, partly because he had played there but largely because he played a large role in the incoming recruiting class.

“It was like a dream,” Sherman said. “I was 24 years old with very little coaching experience, but a lifetime of commitment. … This opportunity was incredible and, no, I didn’t have to think about (the job offer) very long. All I ever wanted to do my entire life was to either play professionally or coach college basketball.”

Sherman carved out quite a career in Fayette, coaching Central Methodist for 37 years and crafting an incredibly successful story that has led the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame to proudly induct Sherman with the Class of 2022.

From November 1986 to March 2022, his teams earned 668 victories. Upon his final game, he ranked fifth as the winningest active coach in the NAIA. He also ranks sixth on the all-time list of winningest basketball coaches in the state of Missouri among four-year colleges.

Overall, he was an eight-time Coach of the Year in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, had 13 20-win seasons, a 30-win season, four conference titles, a divisional title, six NAIA national tournament bids and three Sweet 16 finishes. He also had 14 seasons with top 25 national rankings.

In fact, his 1998 team held a No. 2 ranking for three weeks and finished 26-8. And before it was all said and done, 71 players earned all-conference honors and 20 earn NAIA All-American status, with 75 former players pursuing the coaching profession.

All this from a coach whose career path dramatically changed in 1986, after then-coach Ken Ash (MSHOF 2015) left to coach at Pittsburg State University. Sherman was to coach in Warrenton before Central Methodist’s leadership turned to him.

“To get the chance to be a head coach at age 24 was hard to believe,” Sherman said. “I was at the right place at the right time. I was not nearly as qualified as the other candidates I was helping with the coaching search. Had I not been a Central Methodist graduate and a current assistant, it would never have happened.  The opportunity of a lifetime.”

Sherman graduated from Central Methodist in 1983, having played for Ash. Even better, basketball was in his DNA, considering Sherman was a coach’s son.

Before graduating from De Beque (Colo.) High School in 1978, he played for his dad, and became a two-time All-State selection in basketball. He scored more than 2,000 points, having led the state in scoring his final two seasons.

Sherman also was a three-time all-stater in the 100 and 200 meters in track & field. He later attended Northeastern Junior College, competing in track, and was recruited by NCAA Division I schools. However, he fell in love with CMU on a recruiting visit to the universities of Missouri and Kansas.

Basketball was still very much in his heart.

“I had keys to the school gym (in De Beque), but loved playing outside every chance I could get, whether at home, school or a neighbor’s house,” Sherman said. “My father never had to encourage me to play more basketball.”

At Central Methodist, he learned how to navigate through the reality of small-college basketball, such as financial resources for scholarships and facilities. He also worked without a full-time assistant the first 25 seasons.

The launch began with his third and fourth teams, which won 24 and 23 games, respectively, by playing up-tempo.

“My philosophy that we lived by was, ‘No whining, no complaining and NO EXCUSES,’” Sherman said.

Sherman emphasized that his wife of 37 years, Julee, made his career through her support. They are parents to Matt (current coach) and Ryan.

So many players and mentors paved the way, too. Along the way, mentors were his dad, Alan, coaches Roy Edwards, Lowell Roumph, Edward Brandt and Ash. Athletic directors included James Luetjen, Larry Anderson (MSHOF 2015), Mark Robb and Ken Oliver.

“I didn’t have many coaches, but they were all Hall of Fame coaches,” Sherman said. “They prepared me for this profession at an early age, which allowed me to survive and thrive for close to 40 years.”