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Navy named Jon Perry its new men’s basketball coach on April 2 after former coach Ed DeChellis officially retired on March 19.
Perry was an assistant coach under DeChellis for 12 seasons and is excited to be the next head coach of the Midshipmen.
“It’s a blessing,” Perry said on Glenn Clark Radio April 8. “I grew up in a basketball family in the state of West Virginia. Coach DeChellis gave me an opportunity a long time ago as a young guy in high school and believed in me. I’ve got wonderful relationships and experienced a lot of great things because of the game of basketball. To now be at the United States Naval Academy, a place where the mission speaks to me … it’s a dream come true.”
Perry originally played under DeChellis at East Tennessee State from 1997-2002, then worked as a graduate assistant at the school after he was done playing. Perry later worked as a coach under DeChellis at Penn State from 2004-2010. The two reunited in 2013 when DeChellis was the head coach at Navy, and the pair worked together until DeChellis retired.
Perry realized coaching might be in his future when he suffered an injury during his sophomore year at East Tennessee State.
“I experienced a really bad knee injury and didn’t think I was ever going to play basketball again,” Perry said. “I actually ended up tearing my ACL twice, but after this first tear, Coach just really put his arm around me. I was struggling in a lot of ways. It was the first time I wasn’t able to be a part of a team. I was kind of on the outside looking in through the rehab. He just saw something in me and said, ‘Hey, you could really help this team from the sidelines. Why don’t you transition into a student assistant?’”
Perry realized how impactful coaching could be. He hopes to use the skills that DeChellis taught him and the skills he’s learned throughout his coaching career going forward with Navy.
“From there, during that experience, I was like, ‘This coaching is awesome,’ because you start to see how you can impact other people without having to actually be on the floor,” Perry said. “I started seeing beyond myself during that time. As a player, I was always worried about playing time and this, that and the other. When that opportunity is taken away … you start realizing you can affect winning and people’s overall development in a lot of different ways.”
Besides inspiring people while being a coach, Perry is also excited for his new position because he loves Navy as a university and also loves the people in Annapolis.
“The town of Annapolis and the support for the Naval Academy is second to none,” Perry said. “That in itself is very special. I’m hopeful that we can continue the momentum from last year, and that everybody in the community will continue to come out and support these guys because they put in so much time … and they play for the name on the front.”
Perry’s main goal next season is to win the Patriot League. Navy went 15-19 overall and 10-8 in the conference in 2024-25, then made a run to the Patriot League championship game before losing to American. The Mids have not won the league since 1997-98.
One of the key players who can help Navy reach its goals is forward Donovan Draper, who will be a senior next season. Draper averaged 8.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this past season. Perry believes Draper can be even better next season.
“Donovan’s a special young guy,” Perry said. “He’s going to be a senior, but he’s really only played two years of college basketball because of the transition from football. I don’t think he gets enough credit for what he’s able to do on the basketball court, with such a limited amount of time of preparation. We’re looking forward to a big spring and summer from him.”
Perry believes that Navy will learn from their mistakes this past season, when they let too many games slip away.
“We were in every game — either leading every game or it came down to a minute and a half, two-minute, three-minute game, and sometimes it just didn’t work out for us,” Perry said. “I think sometimes as a group, you have to grow through that, the accountability piece in that. Instead of pointing fingers, we started looking in the mirror at ourselves. … I think we got tougher as the year went on, I really do.”
While Perry is now Navy’s head coach, he’s still going to use some skills that DeChellis taught him.
“The one thing that’s going to stay consistent is our three pillars and that’s defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball,” Perry said. “As a player I saw that work and win championships, and as a coach working underneath him, I’ve seen it work and win championships and win a lot of games, so we’re going to continue to defend and rebound and take care of the ball.”
For more from Perry, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Navy Athletics
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Covering Baltimore sports, from high school to the pros since 2006.
