Blake Stinson has been promoted from student assistant to assistant coach, announced by men's basketball head coach Blake Mellinger last week.

Stinson, a Honaker, Va. native,  started his student assistant position in 2019 with the UVA Wise men's basketball team, and graduated from UVA Wise in May of 2021.

During his time as a student, Stinson was also a member of the UVA Wise baseball team where he achieved a perfect 1.00 fielding percentage during the 2019-2020 season.

His background in basketball is credited to his impressive high school career, where the dual-athlete was named First Team All-State in his junior and senior years in baseball and snagged the VHSL career assist record and the single-season assist record in basketball his sophomore year at Honaker High School. 

Stinson was the center of a featured article in the Herald Courier in 2016 titled "It's Straight to the Point with Stinson" that detailed his remarkable sophomore year with the Honaker High School Tigers. Most notably, Stinson was labeled as "the most unselfish point guard in Southwest Virginia."

Mellinger is excited for Stinson to move up in the ranks on their staff. "Blake has been an integral part of our program for the past two years, '' said Mellinger. "He understands how we operate, has a great relationship with our players, and is one of the brightest young coaches I have been around. I'm excited for this opportunity for him and our team."

Stinson will work with the team this offseason, and will officially start his career with the UVA Wise basketball program on Nov. 13 for the team's season opener against King University.