Blake Mellinger has been a mainstay in the UVA Wise men’s basketball program for over two decades, both as a player and a coach. He took over the head coaching position in 2013 after spending six seasons in Wise as an assistant and during that time has guided the team not only through a transition from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II ranks but also conference changes as the school moved from the NAIA Mid-South Conference to the D-II Mountain East Conference and later the South Atlantic Conference. In the process the team has become a nationally recognized program.
Over his tenure he has coached numerous players who earned all-conference and other postseason honors with one, Bradley Dean, earning South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, D2CCA All-Region, and All-America honorable mention honors in 2022-23. His teams have also had success off the court, earning NABC academic honors on multiple occasions. Another player, Deon Boyce, led the nation in rebounding in 2013-14.
His teams have also had postseason experience as they have earned berths in their conference tournament in nine seasons under Mellinger’s tenure.
They have also developed a reputation as a “giant-killer” as they have several upset wins over nationally ranked teams over the last few seasons, including four in the 2024-25.
The 2024-25 season saw the Cavs become regionally ranked for the first time in the program’s NCAA era.
The 2023-23 season is one still talked about in Southwest Virginia as the team captured 19 wins, their most in the D-II era, and made their first appearance in the SAC tournament championship game. En route to that game they knocked off ninth-ranked Lincoln Memorial University by eight points in the semifinals. Dean also tied the tournament’s individual scoring record with 84 points.
Before being named head coach, Mellinger spent six seasons as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator for UVA Wise. During that time, he helped lead the program to its second Appalachian Athletics Conference championship and second NAIA National Tournament appearance in 2010. He also handled recruiting, scouting, scheduling, team travel, day-to-day operations, monitoring team compliance and academics, and player development in addition to coordinating the team’s community service projects and team camp.
Mellinger has basketball coaching in his blood as his father and grandfather were both coaches. Blake’s grandfather, Arnold, was a standout at Carson-Newman from 1954-57 and to date is the only men’s basketball player to have his jersey retired there. The elder Mellinger competed for the Eagles from 1954-57 and scored 1,826 career points, ranking sixth all-time in Carson-Newman history.
A native of Glade Spring, Virginia, Mellinger was a three-sport athlete at Patrick Henry High School, lettering in basketball, football and track and field. After completing his career at Patrick Henry, Mellinger accepted an offer to play at fellow Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina, where he played from 2001-2003 before transferring to UVA Wise from 2003-05. At Wise, he served as team captain for the Cavs and went on to become an all-conference player after averaging 12.3 points and five rebounds as a senior. He scored a total of 536 points and collected 264 in his two seasons at UVA Wise.
Mellinger received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from UVA Wise in 2006. He and his wife Amy, along with their two children Mason and McKenna, reside in Wise.
