John Putyrski named new head coach for FSCJ men's basketball

Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) Director of Athletics Jerry Thor has announced the hiring of John Putyrski as the new Men's Basketball Head Coach.

"We are excited to welcome Coach Putyrski as the new leader of FSCJ Men's Basketball," Jerry Thor said. "He brings a variety of experience from around the college basketball world, including strong references from stops at NCAA DI and NJCAA institutions. I look forward to seeing him connect with the talented prospects in our community and developing a team that plays an exciting style of basketball for our community to enjoy."

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Putyrski comes to Jacksonville after most recently serving as an assistant coach for the University of Texas at Arlington during the 2022-23 season. 

"Earning the privilege to serve as a head coach at the collegiate level is something I have worked towards for the last 12 years," said Putyrski. "I am grateful to College President Dr. John Avendano and Athletic Director Jerry Thor for the opportunity to lead our student-athletes in this bright new chapter for FSCJ Men's Basketball. I look forward to helping our players pursue their educational and professional goals while building FSCJ into perennial contenders at the junior college national level. I'm excited for our program to make an impact in the classroom, in the community and of course on the court."

While at UT-Arlington, Putyrski was primarily responsible for player development and opponent and recruit scouting. Prior to UT-Arlington, Putyrski served in several different roles at his alma mater, Illinois State University. He was originally hired back to Illinois State as video coordinator in July 2019 after previously serving as a student manager for the program from 2011-16. He was promoted to director of basketball operations before being elevated to an assistant coach during the 2021-22 season. In his variety of roles and in addition to his focus in player development, Putyrski ran much of the behind-the-scenes operations of the program including overseeing academics, budget, community service, film, scheduling, travel, and supervising the student managers. 

Before rejoining the Redbirds, Putyrski spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach at Eastern Florida State College, where he helped lead the Titans to a 28-8 record as the team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NJCAA National Tournament. In just his first season as an assistant coach, Putyrski was named one of the top junior college assistants in the country by Coachstat.net and was praised for excelling in recruiting, teaching, game-planning and player development. During his lone season at Eastern Florida, six of their players earned All-Conference honors and went on to excel at the Division I, II and professional levels. In addition, Putyrski was in charge of overseeing academics at Eastern Florida, and the team recorded a program-record 3.14 grade point average.

Prior to his time at Eastern Florida, Putyrski worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga from 2016-18. While attending Illinois State University, Putyrski got his start in coaching serving as the student manager from 2011-16, being promoted to head manager during the 2015-16 season. 

Putyrski is an Illinois State graduate with a bachelor's degree in nutrition and dietetics. He graduated from UT-Chattanooga in 2018 with a master's degree in public administration.