Brooks Savage announced the hiring of Josh Spainhour as the Buccaneers’ Director of Basketball Sport Performance on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. 

Spainhour comes to ETSU after spending the last year at Wake Forest.

During his year as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Wake Forest, Spainhour worked under former ETSU Director of Basketball Sport Performance, Mike Starke. Spainhour helped train Tyree Appleby – who was named Associated Press Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. Appleby led the ACC in scoring (18.8) and assists per game (3.4), becoming the first player in conference history to lead the league in both statistical categories.

Prior to Wake Forest, Spainhour worked at Kansas State and the University of Miami. At Kansas State, Spainhour spent last summer as an intern with the Wildcats’ strength and conditioning program before they made their run into the Elite 8 this past March. The year prior, Spainhour was a graduate assistant at the University of Miami from 2021-22. The Hurricanes made their first-ever Elite 8 appearance in program history as they finished with 26 wins following victories over Southern Cal, Auburn and Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament.

Spainhour played basketball at Guilford College from 2013-14 before earning a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health from UNC Wilmington in 2017.

After graduating from UNCW, Spainhour taught elementary school physical education and coached high school basketball at Mount Tabor from 2018-21.

Spainhour, a native of King, N.C., and holds certifications in CSCS, USAW-1, CPR and First Aid.