Men's Basketball

Matt Sherman will be entering his third season as head basketball coach in 2024-25. He has a career record of 36-22 with the Eagles, and has coached nine Heart All-Conference selections, two Heart Newcomers of the Year, and one NAIA All-American. 

Matt served the previous seven seasons as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for CMU. He helped lead the Eagles to a pair of NAIA National Tournament bids in 2018 and 2022. Sherman was also part of the 2017-18 Coaching Staff of the Year in the Heart of America. 

He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he spent two seasons. Sherman completed his master's degree in Health and Human Performance with an emphasis in Sports Administration. He worked under two coaching legends in Mike McConathy, and Jeff Moore, who was recently added to the LSU coaching staff.

Upon graduation, Sherman returned to the Heart of America Athletic Conference and was hired as an assistant coach at Graceland University for the 2012-13 season. In his lone season at Graceland, for one game, Sherman served as acting head coach. That game happened to be against Central Methodist on Feb. 7, 2013, in Fayette. Sherman led the Yellowjackets that evening to a 46-42 victory over his alma mater.

Sherman moved on to William Jewell College for the 2013-14 season, an NCAA Division II program in Liberty, Missouri. He worked as an assistant coach at William Jewell under legendary head coach Larry Holley. Sherman spent two seasons with the Cardinals before accepting the assistant coaching position at Central Methodist.

A Fayette, Missouri native, Sherman shined on the basketball court at Fayette High School, receiving All-State honors his senior year from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. He helped guide the Falcons to a quarterfinal appearance in the Class 3 state playoffs during the 2005-06 season and finished his career at Fayette with 1,545 points. Sherman was a four-time all-conference and three-time all-district selection. He was also a two-time KRES All-Star.

Sherman continued his playing career for the next four seasons at Central Methodist. Sherman guided Central Methodist to three consecutive 20-win seasons (2007-2010). The Eagles posted a 28-7 record in his junior season and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament. There, Central Methodist upset No. 4 Georgetown (Ky.) in the opening round of the tournament, arguably one of the greatest victories in Eagles history.

During his senior season in 2009-10, Sherman led Central Methodist with 15.9 points/game and made 131 3-point shots, a single-season school record that still stands. His career mark of 433 made 3-pointers also still stands as a school record. The Eagles posted a 24-9 record during his senior campaign, winning the Heart Regular Season Championship, and advancing to their second-straight NAIA National Tournament. Sherman finished his playing career with an 89-42 record in four seasons playing for the Eagles. Matt earned the Estes Award, representing the top senior athlete at CMU. 

Sherman received NAIA All-America honorable mention honors in both his junior and senior seasons. He finished his college career with 1,817 points, ranking sixth on the Eagles' all-time scoring list. He graduated from Central Methodist in May 2010 with a bachelor's degree in Physical Education.

In September 2015, Matt became one of the youngest inductees in the CMU Hairston Hall of Fame, the highest honor given to any Central athlete. Matt shares this distinction with his father, former coach Jeff Sherman, inducted in 2012.

Matt and his wife, Stasia, who is the Director of Alumni Engagement at CMU, reside in Fayette. They have one son, William and a daughter Charlotte.