Men's Basketball

Matt Sherman was hired on March 15, 2022, as the 22nd head coach in the 117- year history of basketball at Central Methodist University. He will be entering his first season as head basketball coach following seven years as associate head coach for the Eagles. Matt is a two-time NAIA All American for Central and was born and raised in Fayette, Missouri. “There couldn’t be a better fit and qualified person to fill this position," stated Jeff Sherman, Director of Athletics.

Sherman began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La., an NCAA Division I school. He spent two seasons with the Demons and completed his master's degree in Health and Human Performance with an emphasis in Sports Administration. He got to work with two coaching legends Mike McConathy, and Jeff Moore recently added to the LSU coaching staff.

Following his two-year stint at Northwestern State, Sherman returned to the Heart of America Athletic Conference and was hired as an assistant coach at Graceland (Iowa) University for the 2012-13 season. In his one season at Graceland, for one game, Sherman served as acting head coach. That game happened to be against Central Methodist on Feb. 7, 2013, in Fayette. Sherman led the Yellow Jackets that evening to a 46-42 victory over his alma mater.

Sherman moved on to William Jewell (Mo.) College for the 2013-14 season, an NCAA Division II program, and a former member of the Heart. He worked as an assistant coach at William Jewell under legendary head coach Larry Holley, a Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee and the all-time winningest coach among all Missouri four-year college basketball programs. Sherman spent two seasons with the Cardinals before accepting the assistant head coaching position at Central Methodist.

A Fayette, Mo., native, Sherman shined on the basketball court at Fayette High School, receiving All-State honors his senior year from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. He helped guide the Falcons to a quarterfinal appearance in the Class 3 state playoffs during the 2005-06 season and finished his career at Fayette with 1,545 points. Sherman made the All-Conference team four times, the All-District team three times, and was a two-time KRES All-Star.

Sherman continued his playing career for the next four seasons at Central Methodist. After helping the Eagles to a 17-14 record in 2006-07 during his freshman season, Sherman guided Central Methodist to three consecutive 20-win seasons. The Eagles posted a 28-7 record in his junior season and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament. There, Central Methodist upset No. 4 Georgetown (Ky.) in the opening round of the tournament, arguably one of the greatest victories in Eagles history.

During his senior season in 2009-10, Sherman led Central Methodist with 15.9 points per game and made 131 3-point shots, a single-season school record that still stands. His career mark of 433 made 3-pointers also still stands as a school record. The Eagles posted a 24-9 record during the 2009-10 season and won the Heart's regular-season championship, advancing to their second-straight NAIA National Tournament. Central Methodist lost to Texas Wesleyan University in the first round of the national tournament in the final game of Sherman's Central Methodist career, finishing with an 89-42 record in four seasons playing for the Eagles. Matt earned the Estes Award and received a gold watch which represents, and honors, the top senior athlete on the campus of Central Methodist.

Sherman received NAIA All-America honorable mention honors in both his junior and senior seasons at Central Methodist. He finished his college career with 1,817 points, ranking sixth on the Eagles' all-time scoring list. He graduated from Central Methodist in May 2010 with a bachelor's degree in Physical Education.

In September 2015, Matt became one of the youngest people to be inducted into the Central Methodist University Hairston Hall of Fame, the highest honor given to any CMU athlete. Matt shares this distinction with his father, coach Jeff Sherman, inducted in 2012.

Matt has extensive experience within the Heart of America and NAIA as a player and coach. He has been the head recruiting coordinator at Central, is active in everyday practice planning, scouting, player development, fundraising, and operations within the basketball program. He helped lead the Eagles to two NAIA National Tournament bids in 2018 and 2022 and was part of the 17-18 Coaching Staff of the Year in the Heart of America Conference. The Eagles were South Division Champions in 2018 and runner-up in 2022.

Matt and his wife, Stasia, reside in Fayette, Mo. Stasia is the Director of Alumni Engagement at Central Methodist. Matt and Stasia have one son, William (3) and a daughter Charlotte (1).