Jimmy Drew was named the head coach of the Lincoln men's basketball team in the spring of 2022, and he is in his fourth season leading the Blue Tigers.
Drew led the Blue Tigers to an historic season in 2024-25 that ended with Lincoln winning the GLVC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship in its first season in the conference. The Blue Tigers went 23-8 and reached the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time since 1981. The GLVC championship marked the first-ever conference postseason tournament title for LU.
Several players coached by Drew earned postseason honors in 2025, including Franck Yetna, who was named to the HBCU Division II All-American second team as well as to the All-GLVC first team and the GLVC All-Defensive team. Andreas Fuller was the GLVC Tournament Most Valuable Player while Tyler Chapman was an All-GLVC second team selection and a GLVC All-Tournament Team honoree.
His first season as Lincoln's head coach was a massive success, as Drew engineered the second-biggest turnaround in NCAA Division II. After winning just four games in 2021-22, Lincoln won 17 games in 2022-23 under Drew's leadership, and returned to Kansas City for the MIAA Championship Tournament for the first time since 2019-20. Drew coached the Blue Tigers to 13 league wins, the most-ever in a single season by a Lincoln team, as LU finished the season fifth in the conference.
The turnaround started before Drew had even coached a regular season game as, in a preseason exhibition on Nov. 7, 2022, Lincoln beat NCAA Division I opponent Missouri-Kansas City, 59-56. The road victory was Lincoln's first win over an NCAA Division I opponent since 1978-79 when the Blue Tigers beat Arkansas-Little Rock, then an NCAA Division I Independent, 84-60 in Jefferson City.
Three players earned All-MIAA recognition in 2022-23, including Artese Stapleton, who was named to the All-MIAA first team. Kevin Kone, an All-MIAA second team selection as well as a member of the MIAA All-Defensive Team, led NCAA Division II in both rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game while finishing in the top-five in both total rebounds and defensive rebounds per game. Sai Witt also was chosen as an All-MIAA honorable mention.
In his second season as the head coach, Drew led LU to an 8-1 start and finished the season in the MIAA tournament. The Blue Tigers beat Emporia State, 59-55, in the opening round before falling in a hard-fought battle against 16th-ranked Fort Hays State, 65-60. DJ Richardson earned All-MIAA third recognition that season.
A pair of victories in the Puerto Rico Classic led to a 4-1 start for Drew in 2025-26, his fourth season at LU. He coached Max Ekono to a slot on the GLVC All-Defensive Team that year.
Drew came to Jefferson City after a successful six-year run as an assistant coach and the director of basketball operations at the University of Central Florida, an NCAA Division I program. Drew helped lead the Knights to a pair of 20-win seasons, a berth in the second round of the NCAA tournament and a trip to the Final Four of the NIT.
Drew, who helped Central Florida beat six teams ranked in the top-25 of the country, including two who were ranked in the top-15, has also coached at DePaul and Kentucky Wesleyan. During his time as a coach, he has worked with three players who have gone on to play in the NBA: Tacko Fall (Boston Celtics), Matt Williams (Miami Heat) and Deng Adel (Cleveland Cavaliers).
He has coached 10 players who have achieved all-conference honors, including seven at UCF, where he has helped the program win 112 games since 2016. Drew worked with three 1,000-point scorers at UCF, and helped directly oversee the program's budget, compliance, scheduling and day-to-day operations.
Prior to returning to the NCAA Division-I ranks with the Knights, Drew spent a year as the head coach of Victory Rock Prep in 2014-15, coaching three DI signees while leading the team to a 25-7 record. He also served as a coach with the Florida Sons AAU Adidas Gauntlet Series, where worked with nine players who went on to play Division I basketball in conferences such as the Big-12, the Southeastern Conference and the Big-10.
In 2013-14, Drew worked as an assistant coach at Kentucky Wesleyan, an NCAA Division II program. Drew helped the team earn a top-10 national ranking and coached three all-league honorees as KWU went 22-9 and reached the championship game of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament.
No stranger to Missouri, Drew began his collegiate career by playing two seasons for Southeast Missouri State University. He then transferred to DePaul University, where he started 17 games as a senior. After graduating, Drew remained at DePaul to serve as a graduate assistant, helping to break down film on opponents and performing advanced scouting.
Drew graduated from DePaul with a bachelor's degree in communications in 2011, and later earned a master's degree in business information technology in 2013.
What Others Are Saying About Coach Drew
"Jimmy Drew has served as an integral part of my staff at UCF since I started in 2016, and there is no doubt in my mind that he is ready to take this next step forward in his career. I couldn't be happier for him and his family, and I wish him the best of luck at Lincoln University." – Johnny Dawkins, Head Coach, UCF
Â
"In my time at UCF, Jimmy was more than just a part of the staff, he was also a good friend that I could rely on for anything. I am really happy for him and I believe he'll do a tremendous job in his next journey." - Tacko Fall, NBA Player
"Jimmy Drew is an excellent young coach! He is a high-character guy that is a tireless worker. There is no doubt that Lincoln University basketball will be a force to be reckoned with under Coach Drew's leadership." – Happy Osbourne, Former Head Coach, Kentucky Wesleyan
Â
"I sincerely believe that Lincoln is getting a guy in Jimmy Drew who has a tremendous knowledge of the game. This was evident to me from the first day that I coached him. It carried over into the time that he spent on my coaching staff. I've watched him develop into a fine young coach. You combine that with a young man who has a tremendous work ethic, and at the same time, tremendous integrity, and LU has got themselves a gem." – Oliver Purnell, Former Head Coach at DePaul, Clemson, Dayton, Old Dominion & Radford
Â
"Congratulations to a great friend! I'm super excited for Jimmy, he is going to do an amazing job. Super excited for him and this opportunity." – Ricardo Greer, Associate Head Coach, Dayton
Â
