Jason Crafton
American basketball coach
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Jason Crafton (born January 30, 1982) is an American college basketball coach who is currently serving as General Manager for women's basketball at Penn State. [1] He was previously the head coach for the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks men's basketball team.[2]
Crafton in 2023 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | General Manager |
| Team | Penn State |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | January 30, 1982 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1999–2003 | Nyack |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2003–2005 | Villanova (video coordinator) |
| 2005–2010 | Navy (assistant) |
| 2010–2012 | Navy (associate HC) |
| 2012–2018 | Nyack |
| 2018–2019 | Delaware Blue Coats (assistant) |
| 2019–2024 | Maryland Eastern Shore |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2025-Present | Penn State (General Manager) |
| 2024-2025 | Columbia (Chief Program Strategist) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 90–184 (.328) |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (TBC) |
Playing career
Crafton played college basketball at Nyack College, where he was named team captain his junior and senior seasons. He was also a member of the schools only CACC Championship Team in the 1999–2000 season.[2]
Coaching career
After graduation, Crafton joined Jay Wright's staff at Villanova as a video coordinator for two seasons until 2005, when he accepted an assistant coaching position at Navy where he'd serve under fellow former Villanova staffer Billy Lange as well as a season under Ed DeChellis.[3] Crafton would return to Nyack to become the school's head men's basketball coach where from 2012 to 2018 before accepting an assistant coaching position with the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League.[4][5]
On April 24, 2019, Crafton was named the head coach at Maryland Eastern Shore.[2][6]
During his five-year tenure as head coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Jason Crafton led the Hawks to significant improvements on the court. Under Crafton, Eastern Shore recorded notable non-conference victories over Temple, Fordham, Penn, Columbia, Marist, and Lehigh.
In the 2022–23 season, Crafton guided Maryland Eastern Shore to an 18–13 overall record, marking the program’s best winning percentage (.581) in 50 years. The team set school records for total steals (345) and steals per game (11.1), ranking first nationally in both steals per game and turnovers forced per contest (19.0).
Following the 2022–23 campaign, Crafton was also named a finalist for the Ben Jobe Coach of the Year Award, presented annually to the top minority head coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball.[7] In addition he was the runner up for the MEAC Conference Head Coach of the Year award.
On December 9, 2024, Crafton was formerly named as Chief Program Strategist for Men's Basketball at Columbia University.[8] He helped the Lions achieve its best non-conference start in 50 years with an 11–2 record.
On June 17, 2025, Crafton became the first-ever general manager for Penn State Lady Lions Basketball Team. He is responsible for roster building and maintenance, generating NIL strategies and overall program development on and off the court.[1]
Head coaching record
NCAA DII
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nyack (CACC) (2012–2018) | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | Nyack | 5–20 | 3–15 | 7th (North) | |||||
| 2013–14 | Nyack | 10–16 | 8–11 | 5th (North) | |||||
| 2014–15 | Nyack | 7–19 | 6–13 | 6th (North) | |||||
| 2015–16 | Nyack | 11–15 | 8–11 | 5th (North) | |||||
| 2016–17 | Nyack | 7–19 | 3–16 | 7th (North) | |||||
| 2017–18 | Nyack | 7–19 | 7–12 | 5th (North) | |||||
| Nyack: | 47–108 (.303) | 35–78 (.310) | |||||||
| Total: | 47–108 (.303) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
NCAA DI
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland Eastern Shore (MEAC) (2019–2024) | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 5–27 | 4–12 | T–9th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Maryland Eastern Shore | Season Canceled (Covid) | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||||
| 2021–22 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 11–16 | 6–8 | T–6th | TBC First Round | ||||
| 2022–23 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 18–13 | 9–5 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2023–24 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 9–20 | 4–10 | 7th | |||||
| Maryland Eastern Shore: | 43–76 (.361) | 23–35 (.397) | |||||||
| Total: | 43–76 (.361) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
