Matt Parker enters his second season on head coach Duane Simpkins' staff in 2024.
Parker comes to American from Kansas State University where he served as a graduate assistant during the 2022-23 season. In his year at K-State, the Wildcats posted a 26-10 record, advancing to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
He arrived at Kansas State after a near 17-year career working as a teacher and basketball coach in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. He was a health and physical education teacher in the District of Columbia from 2005-12, before moving to Prince George’s County from 2012 until August 2022.
Parker also spent four years, from 2006-2010, as an assistant coach at famed DeMatha Catholic High School for head coach Mike Jones. During his stint, the Stags posted a 114-24 (.826) record, including back-to-back 32-4 records in 2008-09 and 2009-10, and three Washington Catholic League titles in 2007, 2009, and 2010. The 2009-10 squad included future NBA players Quinn Cook, Jerami Grant, and Victor Oladipo.
Parker has also spent time working as a coach in the DC Assault (now DC Premier) AAU program based out of Washington, D.C.
From 2018-2020, he was an assistant coach at Montgomery College, a NJCAA Division II school in Rockville, Md. He helped the Raptors post a 20-9 record and advance to the Region 20 quarterfinals in the 2019-20 season.
Parker spent his collegiate career at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio from 1999-2004 where he played for head coach Steve Loy. A team captain his senior season in 2003-04, he helped the Cavaliers qualify for the NAIA Tournament as a sophomore in 2001-02 while the team captured the American Mideast Conference title in 2000-01.
Parker earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Walsh in 2004 and received a Master’s degree in Sports Management from Arkansas State in 2021.
Parker, and his wife, Anitra, have two children, Matthew and Mikaela.
