Adam Short
Assistant Coach | 1st Season
Central Missouri officially announced Adam Short as a Mules Basketball Assistant Coach in November, 2020. Short came to UCM after spending the previous five seasons as an assistant with State Fair Community College.
In his five seasons, Short helped the SFCC team to a 77-69 overall record. The Roadrunners went 16-14 in his final year, 2019-20, and made an appearance in the Region 16 Tournament semifinal round. Short helped seven student-athletes continue their academic and athletic careers at four-year universities from the 2019-2020 team. Five players went on to do Division 1 Level, one to the Division 2 level and one went to the NAIA level. Three Roadrunners were named to the All American Academic team.
Over his five seasons, Short helped coach 24 players that moved on to Division I, 11 that moved on to Division II and two that went on to play in the NAIA.Â
During the 2017-2018 season, Short helped SFCC to a 19-10 record and an appearance in the region tournament semifinal round. He coached NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American A.J. Walker. The Roadrunners also did good work in the classroom; all seven of the sophomores and freshmen who were academic qualifiers have continued their academic and athletic careers at four year colleges or universities. In 2016-2017 the Roadrunners finished with an 11-19 record and an appearance in the Region 16 tournament semifinal round. In his first year at SFCC, he helped the Roadrunners to a 19-10 record. The Roadrunners finished the season falling In the Region 16 tournament championship game. Short coached the Region 16 Most Valuable Player and NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Second-Team All-American Ronnie Rousseau III, who continued his academic and athletic career at Missouri State University.
Before State Fair, Short spent the 2014-15 season at fellow Region 16 member Missouri State University-West Plains, where he served as an assistant basketball coach. Five Grizzles moved on to play at the Division 1 level. Along with being the assistant coach, Short oversaw the academic affairs for the men’s basketball and women’s volleyball programs.Â
During the 2013-14 season, Short served as an assistant coach at Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kansas. Short began his coaching career by serving as a student assistant at Avila University in Kansas City in 2010-2011. He later served as a graduate assistant at Avila. During Short's time at Avila, they appeared in one conference tournament during his tenure. He helped lead the team to an 18-12 record during the 2011-2012 season. This was their best record in more than 10 years and resulted in Avila having the opportunity to host a first round conference tournament game for the first time in 10 years.
In addition to his coaching at the college level, Short coached with the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League grassroots organization MOKAN for ten years. During his time with MOKAN, Short served on the leadership council that developed program wide offense and defense systems throughout the organization. As the head 16U coach with MOKAN, Short had a record of 27-2 and finished ranked fourth in the country in 2019. In 2018, MOKAN 16U finished the season with a 24-8 record. Both years, Short's MOKAN teams qualified for Peach Jam. Over ten years with MOKAN, Short has coached more than 30 student-athletes who played at a Division I program including three that are currently in the NBA.
The Schererville, Ind. native began his playing career at Joliet Junior College in Illinois. During his sophomore campaign, his team finished as the national runner-up. During his time at Avila he scored 1,000 points and was an all-conference player. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in Writing in 2011. He earned a master’s degree from Avila in Organization Development. Coach Short and his wife Erika Orozco-Short reside in Greenwood, MO. Â
