Justin Newton was hired as an assistant coach for the University of Arkansas at Monticello men’s basketball team in May of 2016.
Newton came to UAM after serving the 2015-16 season as assistant men’s basketball coach and recruiting coordinator at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. Lee had just completed its first year as a full member of the NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference.
He has five years of coaching experience, ranging from head high school coach to the last four years as a collegiate assistant coach.
Newton started coaching in 2011 as the head boy’s basketball coach at his alma mater, Victory Christian School in North Augusta, South Carolina. He turned an eight-win team into an 18-4, conference championship team in his first and only season as head coach.
From there, he moved on to the collegiate ranks as assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at South Georgia State College, where he helped lead the team to back-to-back winning seasons. He moved on to Columbus State University for the 2014-15 season, where he was a graduate assistant coach for a runner-up finish at the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and a berth into the NCAA national tournament with a 22-7 record.
Newton’s father, Timmy Newton, was the coach at Victory Christian for 20 years with nine state championships during that tenure. Justin Newton is the school’s all-time leading scorer and record holder for three-pointers.
Justin Newton is a 2013 graduate of Liberty University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. He and his fiancé, Nikki Carroll, will be married in the summer of 2016.
