Matt Parker enters his fourth season on head coach Duane Simpkins' staff in 2026, and third as the Director of Basketball Operations.
Parker came to American from Kansas State University where he served as a graduate assistant during the 2022-23 season. In his year at K-State, the Wildcats posted a 26-10 record, advancing to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
He arrived at Kansas State after a near 17-year career working as a teacher and basketball coach in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. He was a health and physical education teacher in the District of Columbia from 2005-12, before moving to Prince George’s County from 2012 until August 2022.
Parker spent four years, from 2006-2010, as an assistant coach at famed DeMatha Catholic High School for head coach Mike Jones. During his stint, the Stags posted a 114-24 (.826) record, including back-to-back 32-4 records in 2008-09 and 2009-10, and three Washington Catholic League titles in 2007, 2009, and 2010. The 2009-10 squad included future NBA players Quinn Cook, Jerami Grant, and Victor Oladipo.
Parker has also spent time working as a coach in the DC Assault (now DC Premier) AAU program based out of Washington, D.C.
From 2018-2020, he was an assistant coach at Montgomery College, a NJCAA Division II school in Rockville, Md. He helped the Raptors post a 20-9 record and advance to the Region 20 quarterfinals in the 2019-20 season.
Parker spent his collegiate career at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio from 1999-2004 where he played for head coach Steve Loy. A team captain his senior season in 2003-04, he helped the Cavaliers qualify for the NAIA Tournament as a sophomore in 2001-02 while the team captured the American Mideast Conference title in 2000-01.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Walsh in 2004 and received a master’s degree in sports management from Arkansas State in 2021.
Parker, and his wife, Anitra, have two children, Matthew and Mikaela.
