NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Jeff Bovee has announced that DeShaun Jordan has been promoted to Associate Head Coach of the program effective immediately.
"Coach Jordan's success as our sprints, hurdles, and relays coach over the years has been instrumental in our ability to win team titles at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships as well as raise our regional and national presence as a track and field program," Bovee said. "I am very proud to see DeShuan's development as a former Redbird student-athlete and how he continues to nourish our current student-athletes as a positive role model and mentor. Coach Jordan's success is a testament to his hard work and dedication to ISU athletics and our track and field program. He is a tireless recruiter, loves being a part of this University and his passion is very effective in bringing in quality recruits to Normal that succeed in the classroom and in life."
Jordan recently completed his fourth season as a member of the Redbird coaching staff working with the team's sprinters, men's hurdles, and relays. Prior to his time as an assistant coach, Jordan was a graduate assistant and volunteer assistant coach with the Illinois State track & field program. In addition to his coaching and recruiting responsibilities, Jordan has assisted with team travel operations and planning and execution of home meets during his time on staff.
"It's such an honor to be promoted to Associate Head Coach," Jordan said. "I have grown with this University and have had a front row seat to the many accomplishments we have obtained as a program. I look forward to continuing to grow with this team as we continue to strive for excellence every day. Thank you Coach Bovee, Leanna Bordner, and Illinois State Athletics for this incredible opportunity."
Most recently, Jordan's student-athletes had strong performances at the 2024 MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championship and several qualified to compete at the NCAA West Preliminary Round. Raydoffa Braziel swept the season in the 400m with a win outdoors, as ISU finished 1-2-4-8 in event and sophomore Lindsey Miller took home the title in the women's 100m dash, as she was crowned MVC champion with her personal-best time of 11.57 seconds which puts her third in program history. The women's 4x100m relay team also took home a conference title to cap off a strong performance at the Championships. After the conference championships Braziel, Dewayne Johnson and the men's 4x400m relay team all advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Arkansas.
Jordan was also named the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Indoor Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year, after he
coached his student-athletes to 41 total points (six different student-athletes scored) and two individual conference championships at the 2024 MVC Indoor Track & Field Championships. Included in that success was a 1-2-4 finish in the men's 60m hurdles, with Brandon Ratliff defending his title in the event and Dewayne Johnson and Jaden Johnson following closely behind in second fourth places, respectively. Elsewhere on the track, Braziel took the gold medal in the men's 400m with his season-best time of 47.20 seconds. In addition to his crew's success at the MVC Championships, Ratliff finished in a tie for No. 64 in the nation in the 60m hurdles and Braziel ranked No. 113 in the men's 400m.
Jordan has been part of the Illinois State Track & Field family since 2013, when he started his career as a sprinter for the Redbirds. During his time as a student-athlete, Jordan was a member of the Redbird men's track & field team that brought home their first conference indoor team title in 19 years when Illinois State were crowned the MVC Champions in 2018.
He graduated from Illinois State with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science in 2018 and a Master of Science degree in Recreational Management in 2020. He is a USA Track & Field Level II certified coach.
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