# Jason Crafton

Jason Crafton (born January 30, 1982) is an American college basketball coach who is currently serving as Chief Program Strategist for men's basketball at Columbia University. He was previously the head coach for the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks men's basketball team.

## Playing career

Crafton played college basketball at Nyack College, where he was named team captain his junior and senior seasons. He was also a member of the schools only CACC Championship Team in the 1999–2000 season.

## Coaching career

After graduation, Crafton joined Jay Wright's staff at Villanova as a video coordinator for two seasons until 2005, when he accepted an assistant coaching position at Navy where he'd serve under fellow former Villanova staffer Billy Lange as well as a season under Ed DeChellis. Crafton would return to Nyack to become the school's head men's basketball coach where from 2012 to 2018 he compiled a 47–108 record before accepting an assistant coaching position with the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League.
On April 24, 2019, Crafton was named the head coach at Maryland Eastern Shore.
The 2022–23 season was a historic one in many ways for Hawk Basketball. Crafton's squad finished 18–13, leading to the program's best win percentage (.581) in 50 years and the most wins in a season of Crafton's coaching career. The team broke last season's school records in steals (345) and steals-per-game (11.1). Their per-game clip ranked #1 in the nation this season, while the team also ranked #1 nationally in turnovers forced per contest (19.0). Crafton guided the Hawks to a 10–3 record at William P. Hytche Athletic Center, the best home mark for the program since the 1973–74 season. The team also logged significant non-conference wins at Temple on December 20 and Columbia on December 28. The Hawks finished the first half of MEAC play at 6–1, the best Division I record to open league play in 50 years. Under Crafton, forward Nathaniel Pollard Jr. was named to the All-MEAC Second Team and guard Zion Styles received All-MEAC Third Team and All-Defensive Team honors. Pollard was also named to the 2023 HBCU All-Star Game in Houston, Texas. Crafton was named a finalist for the Ben Jobe Coach of the Year award, recognizing the top Division I minority coach annually.
On December 9th, 2024, Crafton was formerly named as Chief Program Strategist for Men's Basketball at Columbia University.

## Head coaching record
### NCAA DII

Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing |
| Nyack (CACC) (2012–2018) ||||||
| 2012–13 | Nyack | 5–20 | 3–15 | 7th (North) |
| 2013–14 | Nyack | 10–16 | 8–11 | 5th (North) |
| 2014–15 | Nyack | 7–19 | 6–13 | 6th (North) |
| 2015–16 | Nyack | 11–15 | 8–11 | 5th (North) |
| 2016–17 | Nyack | 7–19 | 3–16 | 7th (North) |
| 2017–18 | Nyack | 7–19 | 7–12 | 5th (North) |
| Nyack: | Nyack: | 47–108 (.303) | 35–78 (.310) | |
| Total: | Total: | 47–108 (.303) | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||

### NCAA DI

Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Maryland Eastern Shore (MEAC) (2019–2024) ||||||
| 2019–20 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 5–27 | 4–12 | T–9th | |
| 2020–21 | Maryland Eastern Shore | Season Canceled (Covid) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2021–22 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 11–16 | 6–8 | T–6th | TBC First Round |
| 2022–23 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 18–13 | 9–5 | T–3rd | |
| 2023–24 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 9–20 | 4–10 | 7th | |
| Maryland Eastern Shore: | Maryland Eastern Shore: | 43–76 (.361) | 23–35 (.397) | | |
| Total: | Total: | 43–76 (.361) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||