Hargrave Military Academy Basketball

The Hargrave Military Academy basketball team is the prep basketball team of Hargrave Military Academy. The Tigers have won three National Prep Championships since a formal tournament began in the mid 2000’s. The program has produced hundreds of players that went on to play NCAA Division 1 basketball, and 27 that have gone on to play in the NBA..The program has also been a breeding ground for college coaches, as many former head coaches and assistants have ascended through the ranks at the NCAA Division 1 level. The Hargrave Military Academy basketball program was named “Program of the Decade” by RealGM in 2012 after a study showing that Hargrave produced more successful college basketball players than any other prep school or high school in the nation. The program was also featured on a season 2 episode of CNN's Inside Man.
Team history.
The Scott Shepard Years (94-99).
Shepard manned the sidelines for the Tigers from the 1994-95 season to the 1998-99 season. He compiled an overall record of 127-18, and had multiple teams ranked in the top 3 nationally. He sent over fifty players on to Division 1 schools in his time. Shepard moved on from Hargrave to accept a position as an Assistant Coach with the Virginia Cavaliers for the 1999-2000 season.
The Kevin Keatts Years (99-01;03-11).
Upon Shepherd’s departure to the University of Virginia, Kevin Keatts was promoted from an assistant coach to the Head Coach prior to the 1999-2000 season. Keatts would man the sidelines for the Tigers for the 99-00 and 00-01 seasons before accepting an assistant coaching position at Marshall. He returned to Hargrave for the 2003-2004 season, and was in charge of the Tigers for the better part of the decade from that point forward. He coached the Tigers to their first two National Prep Championships, as well as the program’s first undefeated season in 2008. During his time, he sent 103 players on to the NCAA Division 1 level, and coached 16 players that reached the NBA level. He owns a career win-loss record at Hargrave of 262-17. Keatts would leave Hargrave in 2011 to accept a position as an assistant coach on Rick Pitino’s Louisville staff.
The A.W. Hamilton Years (11-17).
A longtime assistant to Kevin Keatts, A.W. Hamilton was selected to lead the program when Keatts departed. Hamilton presided over the Tigers during one of the most successful stretches in the history of the program. His 6-year run included 237 wins with just 22 losses, with 63 of his players continuing on to the NCAA Division 1 level. He also had two former players, and fellow Hargrave All-Decade Team selections, Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier, selected in the 2015 NBA Draft. Hamilton was lauded as the National Prep Coach of the Year twice (2012,2016) and East Regional Coach of the Year three times (2014, 2015, 2017) during his tenure. He guided players that set records for career points and points scored in a game and his 2016 National Championship team set a school record for wins in a season with 47. Hamilton had a home record of 120-2 during his six years at the helm. Hamilton accepted a position as an assistant coach at N.C. State, reuniting with Kevin Keatts, in 2017.
The Lee Martin Years (17-20).
Lee Martin had been the Associate Head Coach for A.W. Hamilton from 2015-2017 and was hired as his replacement when the former departed for N.C. State. Martin continued the winning tradition at Hargrave, to the tune of a 113-12 overall record in his three seasons as head coach. Martin’s teams advanced to the National Tournament every year of his tenure, including an Elite 8 appearance in 2019 and a Final Four appearance in 2020. Under his watch, Hargrave broke the school record for points in a single game with 173 points scored on March 1st, 2019. Martin’s teams finished in the top 4 of the final national poll each year of his tenure. In his three years as Head Coach, 26 of his players went on to the Division 1 level. On June 25th, 2020, Martin accepted a position as an assistant coach on Jeff Boals' staff at Ohio.
The Thomas Messinger Years (20-).
Thomas Messinger was hired as the Head Coach in June of 2020 after a 3 year stint as the Associate Head Coach for Lee Martin. Messinger served as an assistant coach under Hamilton (15-17) before that. As an assistant at Hargrave, his record is 203-15. 