Will Merrell C'15 enters his first season as head coach for Sewanee men's basketball in 2025-26 and begins his fourth year at his alma mater. He was named the 25th head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of the South on July 15, 2025.

Sewanee posted an 18-9 overall record in 2024-25, including 9-3 for second place in the SAA, but the squad got off to a slow start, dropping four of its first six games of the season, all by nine points or less. The Tigers posted a 12-4 mark after the New Year, falling in the semifinals of the conference tournament.

Five players garnered All-Conference honors, including Russ Marr and Luka Avaliani on the First Team, and 10 athletes were named to the SAA Academic Honor Roll.
 
Sewanee won the SAA Tournament championship in 2022-23, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. Losing just one player from the previous season, the 2023 club improved from six to 19 wins with the conference tournament title.
 
Four players earned All-SAA honors while Marr was voted All-Region. In the classroom, a record 12 student-athletes were recognized on the SAA Academic Honor Roll.
 
The Tigers got off to a slow start in 2023-24 due to injuries and a roster that included five freshmen and just one senior. Sewanee posted a 5-8 mark before the New Year and started 0-4 in league play before winning seven of its last 10 SAA contests. The squad lost to Berry in the semifinals of the conference tournament, finishing the year 12-15 overall, 9-7 in games decided by nine points or less.
 
Marr, Avaliani and Tre Corrigan were voted to the All-Conference team and 10 players garnered SAA Academic Honor Roll accolades.

No stranger to Sewanee, Merrell served as the strength and conditioning coach for the men's lacrosse team that won the 2022 SAA Tournament championship and posted its first-ever NCAA Tournament win.

Prior to returning to Sewanee, he worked as an assistant coach at Queens University of Charlotte (N.C.) for the 2017-18 season. The Royals posted a 32-4 overall record, setting a single-season school record for wins and advancing to the NCAA Division II Final Four. His responsibilities included scouting, recruiting prospective student-athletes and all team travel operations. 

He served as a coach for ProSkills Select AAU, Queen's Grant High School and the Cannon School prior to his start in collegiate coaching.

During his playing career at Sewanee, he was a member of the men's basketball and track and field teams and was a member of the Order of the Gown. Merrell graduated Cum Laude from the University of the South in 2015 with a bachelor’s in Political Science with a concentration in International Security and a minor in History.

Updated 8/21/25