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MBB23 AC Jake Zehnder head shot

Jake Zehnder

Jacob Zehnder enters his third season as head coach, and his fifth year overall at Francis Marion.  He served as an assistant coach for the two years before being named the head coach in the fall of 2022.

This past season, he guided FMU to a 15-13 record, a third-place finish in the East Division standings, and an appearance in the quarterfinals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament.  In his first year as head coach, he directed the Patriots to a 14-14 record and an appearance in the second round of the conference tournament.

As an assistant coach in 2021-22, he helped the Patriot program to a 10-win improvement over the previous season.  He was the recipient of the University's 2021-22 Frankie Award for Assistant Coach of the Year.

A native of St. Cloud, Fla., Zehnder came to FMU after six seasons as an assistant coach at the College of Central Florida in Ocala, where those Patriots compiled a 138-52 mark. He also helped guide the school to a state-best 13th consecutive FCSAA State Tournament appearance and NJCAA Top 25 rankings in four of his six years.  During his time at CF, he helped recruit and coach shooting guard Quenton Jackson, who now plays with the NBA's Indiana Pacers and spending time with the Washington Wizards. 

During the 2019-20 season, CF finished 25-7 and won the Mid-Florida Conference championship. Zehnder was instrumental in the pursuance of individual and team development, helping the Patriots to multiple team and individual Top 10 rankings.  In 2018, Zehnder was recognized as the top junior college assistant coach under 30-years-old by Coachstat.net.

Before arriving at CF, Zehnder served as the head coach of the freshmen and assistant coach of the varsity team at The Rock School in Gainesville, Fla., from 2012 to 2014. His coaching career also includes a stint as an assistant at P.K. Yonge during the 2011-12 season.

While at The Rock School, Zehnder coached a number of accomplished players, including Joel Embiid, former No.4 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and 5-time NBA All-Star.

During the spring and summer months, Zehnder coached youth basketball for the Gainesville Kings AAU organization between 2011 and 2013. His U4-U6 teams won a number of tournaments, including the well-known Disney Easter Classic.  

Zehnder earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in business and organizational management from the College of Central Florida.  He played high school basketball at both Harmony High School and Florida Air Academy.

MBB24 head coach Jake Zehnder 4

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(8-2024)