Jeremy Currier begins his fifth season season as head coach of the Young Harris College men’s basketball program.
Young Harris, which won the Peach Belt Conference Team Sportsmanship Award, earned the program's first-ever National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Award in 2021-22 and saw four players - Carter Berish, Avery Jones, Josh Petteno and Christian Schach - named to the NABC Honor Court. The Mountain Lions were ranked 19th nationally in NCAA Division II in three-pointers made per game (10.0) and 28th in three-point field goal shooting (.381). The Mountain Lions had two players - Carl Cleveland and Karl Chavis - named Peach Belt Players of the Week last season.
The Mountain Lions had two played named to the All-Peach Belt Conference team during the abbreviated 2020-21 season due to CoVID. Alphonso Willis was named to the first team, while Brian Free was named to the third team. Willis, who finished fifth in NCAA Division II in scoring (26.4), was also named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II All-South District second team. As a team, the Mountain Lions finished eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.405).
Young Harris finished ninth in NCAA Division II statistics during the 2019-20 season in three-point field goals per game (11.6), 12th in turnovers forced (17.36), 17th in three-point field goal attempts (883) and scoring offense (87.5), and 18th in three-point field goals made (326).
For the second consecutive year, guard Brian Harper was an NCAA Division II statistical season. Harper, who was named to the All-Peach Belt team, finished the 2019-20 season dishing out 8.5 assists per game. Harper ranked second in NCAA Division II with 237 assists and third in triple-doubles (1). Harper also was ranked seventh in steals per game (2.39) and 14th in steals with 67.
In his first year at the helm, Currier guided the Mountain Lions to a win improvement in both overall and conference marks. He introduced a new, faster-paced style of play, breaking 25 program records from the NCAA Division II era. Under his guidance, the Mountain Lions finished the season placed in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense, three-point field goals made per game, field goals made per game, total three-pointers made, free throws made and attempted, steals per game, total steals, and forced turnovers..
Harper became the first NCAA Division II statistical champion in Young Harris College history as he led the country in assists per game (8.7) and total assists on the season (252). Both Harper and Justin Jones were selected to the All-Peach Belt team.
The Mountain Lions made the Peach Belt Conference Tournament for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Currier came to the Enchanted Valley from Pfeiffer University located in Misenheimer, North Carolina, where he spent 11 seasons, including the last eight as its head coach.
Currier led the Falcons to 47 wins with one of the most potent offenses over the past two seasons as Pfeiffer scored 100 points or more in 40 games (71 percent).
Currier has coached 21 all-conference players, three of which have been conference players of the year and one conference freshman of the year. Five players have been selected to an all-region team, and three were named All-Americans. He has had over 20 former players go on to play professional basketball in nine different countries as well as the American Basketball Association.
Currier guided the Falcons to a 21-4 record in their first season as an NCAA Division III institution in 2017-18. They were ranked No. 1 nationally by three different outlets (BennettRank, HERO Sports, StatGeek Analytics) and won two in-season tournaments while averaging a program-best 110 points per game. They led the NCAA in total steals (450), steals per game (18), forced turnovers (799), and turnover margin (+14.4) while also setting 10 school records.
Currier was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches Southeast Region Coach of the Year and the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year in 2016-17 after leading the Falcons to a Conference Carolinas Championship and the NCAA Division II Tournament with a 26-5 record. The Falcons led NCAA Division I and Division II in scoring (104.3 ppg), total steals (391), forced turnovers (725), and turnover margin (+10.4) while breaking 11 Pfeiffer school records. Pfeiffer was ranked 22nd in the NABC national polls and ranked fourth in the D2SIDA Southeast Regional Rankings. Four of the five starters on the 2016-17 team were members of the 1,000 point club at Pfeiffer.
In 2015-16, Currier led the Falcons to the first NCAA Division I win in program history on Nov. 5 with a victory over North Carolina A&T State University. The Falcons were one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranking top 15 nationally in blocked shots (144), field goal percentage defense (.403), and blocked shots per game (5.0).
Currier led his 2014-15 team to a 16-12 record, a 10-win turnaround from the previous season. The improvement was the one of the largest turnarounds in the nation. The Falcons defense was one of the best in the nation, ranking second in opponent field goal percentage (.381), sixth in blocked shots per game (5.2), 10th in total blocked shots (146), and 15th in defensive rebounds per game (27.7).
Currier had previously served as assistant basketball coach at Pfeiffer under Dave Davis, where the Falcons finished as the highest scoring team in Division II at 103.1 points per game and was ranked third nationally in three-pointers per game (10.6) and steals per game (11.2), while ranking fifth in the country in three-point field goal percentage (.423). Currier was rated the sixth-best Division II assistant coach for recruiting success in 2009 by College Bound Hoops and the JUCO Recruiting Report.
Prior to Pfeiffer, Currier was the head coach at Daniel Webster College where the team of his own recruits won a record 18 games and a first ever invitation to the ECAC Tournament. Currier led the Eagles to their highest win total in 10 years.
Currier played his collegiate basketball at Endicott College (2000-04). He was the Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2003, finishing as the NCAA statistical leader (all divisions) in three-point field goal percentage (52 percent) in 2003 and was a two-time all-conference and All-New England selection (2002, 2003), finishing with over 1,000 career points. In 2011, Currier was inducted into the Endicott College Hall of Fame.
Currier earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management from Endicott College in 2004 and his master’s in leadership from Pfeiffer in 2011.