Completing his second year at the Wildcats’ helm, Mark Sherrill has the Fort Valley State men’s basketball turning in the right direction as he builds the program.
Despite not seeing the progress in the win column from his first FVSU campaign, Sherrill had his second Wildcats team (7-22) in virtually every game they played with 13 losses coming by six points or less. His Wildcats also went 3-1 against the top two Southern Intercollegiate Athletic East Division regular season, including a sweep of rival and East champ Albany State.
After taking over at the start of September 2018, Sherrill has already transformed the FVSU program into a tough game for every opponent. He has guided an All-SIAC player in each season, including Shawn Foxbrennen last season.
The Durham, N.C., native came to The Valley following a long and successful 24-year stint as the associate head coach for his alma mater Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) in Charlotte.
During his tenure on the JCSU, Sherrill helped the Golden Bulls win the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Western Division title six times (2001, 02, 06, 07, 08 and 09) and Southern Division championships twice (2016 and 2018). Sherrill and JCSU danced all the way to the 2001 NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
At Johnson C. Smith, Sherrill recruited 43 All-CIAA performers, three who earn CIAA Player of the Year, and 11 All-Americans.
As a Golden Bulls player (1988-92), Sherrill’s court prowess led to him becoming the program’s all-time leading with 2,552 points, which was sixth-most in Conference history. The CIAA Hall of Famer set the JCSU season record with 774 points in the 1990-91 season, and ranked eighth in all of DII. Sherrill earned NCAA Division II All-American honors, the first Johnson C. Smith male athlete to earn such an honor. He also was named All-South Atlantic Region First Team from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and South Atlantic All-Tournament team in 1991 and the CIAA Rookie of the Year as a freshman.
Sherrill earned his bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Johnson C. Smith in 1992. He is the father of three children: M.J., Stephen and Stephanie.