John Cooksey enters his tenth season as the head coach of the Harry S Truman College men’s basketball team in 2021-22. Before taking over the program in 2011, Cooksey was the head coach at Kaskaskia College in Centralia, Ill., from 1999-2008.
Cooksey began his coaching career in 1996 at his alma mater, Webster University in St. Louis, where he served as an assistant for three seasons.
During his playing career at Webster, Cooksey was a three-time All-St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference performer who established himself as one of the top players in team history. Cooksey is the Gorloks’ all-time leader in rebounds per game (9.3) and is second in points per game (18.4) and rebounds (617); third in blocks (86), blocks per game (1.3), field goal percentage (.506) and free throws made (273); fourth in field goals made (453) and free throw percentage (.765); and sixth in points (1,212).
Cooksey received a bachelor’s degree in media communications in 1994 and a master’s degree in business from Webster in 1995.
Besides his coaching responsibilities at Truman, Cooksey is a tenured faculty member and teaches business courses in the school’s Business and Computer Information Systems Department.
Cooksey and his wife, Sarah, are the parents of twin daughters, who were born in December 2014.