Track & Field/Cross Country
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- j.ellis@usm.edu
- Phone:
- 266-5694
John Ellis began coaching Jumps and Multis at Southern Miss in the 2014-2015 season.
– 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field South Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year
Ellis was named the 2019 DI Indoor Track and Field South Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year. The 2019 season brought much success to Ellis’ athletes. In his fifth year, he coached seven Conference USA Champions overall, three NCAA Indoor All-Americans and three for Outdoors. He had three athletes break indoor school records and two for outdoors. All three of his outdoor National Qualifiers finished in the top five of the finals. Coached Caleb Parker to the school record of 7.71 in the 60m hurdles, Conference USA Champion and Meet record holder at 7.77. He finished in seventh place at the NCAA Championships. For outdoors, he was C-USA Champion in the high jump as well as the 110m hurdles. He set the school record twice in the 110m hurdles, the school record of 13.50 coming in the prelims at the NCAA Championships, and went on to finish fifth in the finals. He guided Eric Richards to the indoor school high jump record of 7’3.5” to win gold at the Conference USA Championships. He went on to finish ninth at the NCAA Championships. During the outdoor season, he jumped to the No. 2 all-time height of 7’4.25” to finish fifth at the NCAA Championships. He coached John Warren to the indoor school record triple jump of 55’2”, a Conference USA triple jump title and a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Outdoors, he was runner-up in the long jump at the C-USA Championships and was Champion in the triple jump. He finished fourth at the NCAA Championships breaking his own school record of 55’0.75”. Warren swept the Male Field Athlete of the Meet accolades for his senior season and was named C-USA’s Field Athlete of the Year at the end of the season. Ellis also coached Eric Washington to a third-place finish in the outdoor long jump at the Conference Championships. He guided Callie Jones to a Conference USA title in the heptathlon with the No. 3 score in school history of 5261 as well as a third place finish in the javelin.
In the 2018 season, Ellis led the jumps group to five school records, 10 All-C-USA performances, including four Conference Champions and two Conference USA meet records. During the Indoor campaign, sophomore Jamari Drake finished second in the women’s high jump, clearing 1.7m (5’7.25”). Sophomore Caleb Parker finished third in the men’s 60m Hurdles in 8.01, followed by a runner-up finish in the men’s high jump clearing 2.15m (7’0.25”). Parker set a new school record in the 60m hurdles, running 7.77 seconds at the Vanderbilt Invitational. Junior John Warren set the Indoor school record as well as the Indoor Conference-USA meet record by winning the men’s triple jump with a jump of 16.34m (53’7.5”). Warren finished in sixth-place at the NCAA Indoor National Championships, earning First-Team All-American honors. Indoors, the women finished as runner-ups at the Conference USA Championships. Outdoors, freshman heptathlete Callie Jones set a new Javelin school record of 54.85 (179’11”) at the Florida State Relays. She later went on to score 4928, the No. 3 performance in school history, to finish sixth in the C-USA Heptathlon. Jones was the women’s Javelin Conference Champion, and finished 11th in the East Region qualifying herself for the NCAA National Championships where she finished 19th and earning NCAA Honorable Mention accolades. Senior Trista Barry set a personal best in the high jump of 1.78m (5’10”) at the Southern Miss Open, and was the C-USA runner-up in the women’s high jump. Barry finished 19th at the East Regional Championships. Freshman Adrianna Mitchell qualified for the East Regional Championships after finishing fourth in the women’s triple jump at the C-USA Championships with a jump of 12.65m (41’6”). Sophomore Caleb Parker set a 110m hurdle personal best of 13.82 at the Florida State Relays and was the C-USA runner-up. Parker set a high jump personal best of 2.21m (7’3”) at the Southern Miss Invitational which was the No. 2 performance in school history. Parker was the C-USA Outdoor Men’s High Jump Champion, qualifying for the East Regional Championships in both high jump and hurdles. Junior John Warren finished third in the men’s long jump at the C-USA Championships, setting a new school record of 7.80m (25’7”). He was the C-USA Champion in the men’s triple jump, setting a new school record and C-USA Championship meet record at 16.4m (53’10.25”). Warren broke his school record again, finishing second at the East Regional Championships at 16.59 (54’5.25”), qualifying for the NCAA Championships where he finished 15th, earning Second-Team All-American honors. Warren went on to break his school record one more time, finishing seventh at the USA Track & Field National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa with a jump of 16.64m (54’7”). In Outdoors, the women won the Conference USA title, and the men finished as Conference USA runner-ups.
During the 2017 season, Ellis guided the jumps group to achieve six Conference USA Indoor Championship finalists, led by a trio of true freshmen. Caleb Parker finished fifth in the 60m hurdles setting a personal best of 8.04 seconds and also finished fourth in the high jump, Eric Washington finished fifth in the long jump, and Jamari Drake was the bronze medalist in the women’s High Jump. During the outdoor season, the success continued as junior Trista Barry set a high jump personal best of 1.73m to finish fourth at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships and qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary round. Ellis also coached freshman Caleb Parker to a 110m hurdle personal best of 14.12 seconds to win the bronze medal at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships and also qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary round.
During the 2016 season, Ellis guided senior Chris Monroe to an indoor triple jump school record of 15.52m (50’11”) to go with his outdoor school record of 15.73m (51’7.25”) he set one year prior. Monroe qualified for the NCAA East Regional Championship for the second-straight season. Ellis also guided sophomore Trista Barry to her first season as a Conference USA point scorer in the pentathlon (seventh), indoor high jump (fifth), and outdoor high jump (seventh). In addition to leading the current USM jumpers and multis, Ellis also ensured a bright future for USM Track & Field by recruiting and signing several of the nation’s best competitors at the high school and junior college levels.
In the 2015 season, Ellis’ first season directing the jumps and multi events, Ellis coached Courtland Wells to a fifth-place finish at the C-USA Indoor Championship in the high jump and a second-place finish at the C-USA outdoor Championship in the high jump. Wells recorded a season best jump of 6’11.5” qualifying for the NCAA East Regionals where he finished seventeenth. Ellis also guided Chris Monroe to a third-place finish at the C-USA Outdoor Championships in the triple jump, qualifying for the NCAA East Regionals while setting a school record jump of 51’7.25”. The mark broke a 14-year old record. Monroe finished 21st at the Regional Championship Meet.
Prior to Southern Miss, Ellis was a volunteer assistant with the University of Georgia where he worked with sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers and multi-event athletes. Ellis has a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Technical Coaching Certificate as well as a strength and conditioning certificate.
In 2014, Ellis coached Jamario Calhoun to a sixth-place finish at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships. Calhoun recorded personal-best distances of 24 feet, 6.5 inches in the long jump and 50-1.75 in the triple jump outdoors and managed to qualify for the NCAA East Regionals in both events under Ellis’ direction.
Ellis also served as an assistant to 2014 indoor women’s assistant coach of the year, Petros Kyprianou, in the training of heptathlon and pentathlon national champion Kendell Williams, who set the collegiate record of 4635 in winning the 2014 indoor national title. Williams also was the 2014 world junior champion in the 100m hurdles setting a championship record of 12.89. Ellis also assisted in the training of indoor and outdoor high jump national champion Leontia Kallenou, as well as decathlon national champion Maicel Uibo. In 2014, the lady bulldogs finished 3rd place at the indoor national championships.
While earning his Master’s degree in Kinesiology, Ellis served as a graduate assistant coach at Western Illinois University from 2011 to 2013. He coached six student-athletes to All-Summit League Conference honors. He guided the Leathernecks to 18 top-10 all-time performances and three school records. One school record holder included Glenn Powell, who recorded personal best marks of 8.18 in the 60m hurdles and 14.33 in the 110m hurdles. Powell was one of five NCAA West Regional qualifiers for the Leathernecks of Western Illinois University. Ellis earned his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Azusa Pacific University (Ca.). He competed for the Cougars for four seasons, serving as team captain during his senior year. Ellis earned All-Golden State Conference honors in the long jump. During his time at APU, the Cougars claimed five NAIA national team titles (three indoor and two outdoor). The Portland, Ore., native served as president of the APU Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Ellis traveled with the Athletes in Action sports ministry’s track and field team that competed in Honduras, Guatemala and Fiji.
