Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Olympic Sports
- Email:
- jsjs@umich.edu
Jon Sanderson has been the head strength and conditioning coach for the University of Michigan men’s basketball team as well as the U-M men’s and women’s golf programs since 2009. Regarded as one of the top basketball/golf strength and conditioning coaches in the business, Sanderson is the only strength and conditioning coach in NCAA history to participate in a Final Four as a player (Ohio State, 1999) and a coach (Michigan, 2013 and 2018).
In his 15 seasons in Ann Arbor, Sanderson has helped the Wolverines to over 300 wins (326) as well as over 150 Big Ten wins (158). He has been part of 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including advancing to the 2013 and 2018 Final Fours, where the Maize and Blue closed as the national runner-up after advancing to the national title games. Overall, during Sanderson's tenure, U-M had runs to five straight Sweet 16s and reached the Elite Eight four times.
In addition to the NCAA postseason, Michigan has won three Big Ten regular season titles (2012, '14 and '21) during Sanderson's time in Ann Arbor. The 2012 title marked the first for the program since 1986, while two years later the Wolverines also won their first outright Big Ten title in 28 years in 2014 (15-3), winning the league by three games. In 2021, under Juwan Howard, the Wolverines claimed the conference title while navigating the covid-19 pandemic.
In addition to the regular season success, Sanderson was instrumental in back-to-back titles in the Big Ten Tournament (2017 & 2018). After a well-publicized plane crash, the No. 8-seeded Wolverines won four games in four days in Washington, D.C., to claim the postseason tournament title. The following year in New York, the Wolverines again won four games in four days to win a second straight title.
Throughout Sanderson’s career with the Wolverines, he has trained over 30 student-athletes that have gone on to play professional basketball in the NBA, including Kobe Bufkin, Trey Burke, Ignas Brazdeikis, Moussa Diabate, Tim Hardaway, Jr., Manny Harris, Caleb Houstan, Jett Howard, Caris LeVert, Isaiah Livers, Mitch McGary, Darius Morris, Jordan Poole, Duncan Robinson, Glenn Robinson III, Nik Stauskas, Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner, Derrick Walton, Jr. and D.J. Wilson.
In addition to those Wolverines who had stops in the NBA, Sanderson has worked with professional players in the G League or overseas including Eli Brooks, Chaundee Brown, Jr., Zak Irvin, DeVante' Jones, Charles Matthews, Jordan Morgan, Zavier Simpson, DeShawn Sims, Mike Smith and Jon Teske.
Sanderson’s work with the U-M men’s golf program has yielded nine total NCAA regional bids with five team and four individual, as well as a national semifinal finish in 2011. In addition to postseason successes, he has been instrumental in the development of All-America golfers Lion Kim (2011) and Kyle Mueller (2017, '18) as well as All-Big Ten golfers Kim (2010, '11), Matt Thompson (2010, '12), Chris O'Neill (2014), Mueller (2015, '16, '17, '18) and Brent Ito (2020).
With the help of Sanderson's program, Kim competed in the 2011 Masters, while Mueller played in the 2016 U.S. Open and three straight U.S. Amateur Championships (2015, '16, '17). Additionally, Nick Carlson had an inspiring run to the 2016 U.S. Amateur Final Four, while Patrick Sullivan won the 2021 Michigan Amateur.
With the women’s golf program, Sanderson has eight NCAA regional selections -- six team and two individuals. Out of those six team appearances, U-M has advanced to four NCAA Finals (2016, '17, '21, '22), posting top 20 national finishes in each. In 2022, Michigan made history capturing the program's first ever Big Ten title, winning by four shots over Michigan State. Individually, Sanderson has worked with 10 Wolverines who have garnered 14 All-Big Ten accolades including Ashley Lau (2022 Big Ten Golfer of the Year) and Monet Chun (2021 Big Ten Freshman of the Year). In fact, Chun (2022) and Elodie Van Dievoet (2017) became the first Wolverines to capture the individual title at the conference championships.
Lau (2021, '22) and Van Dievoet went on to earn the program's first ever All-America citations, while nine Wolverines earned the prestigious WGCA All-American Scholar honor.
Before joining Michigan, Sanderson spent three years (2006-09) working at Clemson as the men’s and women’s basketball strength and conditioning coach, as well as the director of the Littlejohn Coliseum weight room. During Sanderson’s time at Clemson, the men’s basketball team won 20 or more games for three straight seasons -- a first in program history. In fact, during those three seasons, only North Carolina and Duke had more wins than Clemson in the ACC.
Prior to his time at Clemson, Sanderson served as the head strength and conditioning coach and sports nutrition coordinator for Olympic sports at Marshall (2003-06). Before Marshall, Sanderson was an intern at North Carolina, working with the men’s basketball program (2002-03).
Sanderson received both his bachelor’s in communication (2001) and master’s in sport sciences (2002) from Ohio University. Sanderson holds professional certifications in Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA); Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (CSCC); Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (NSCA); United States Weightlifting Level 1 Club Coach (USAW); Functional Movement Systems Level 1 (FMS); Titleist Performance Institute Level 1 (TPI); Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES) and CPR/AED Certified (American Red Cross).
A native of Mansfield, Ohio, Sanderson played college basketball at Ohio State (1997-99) and Ohio (2000-02). Sanderson was the starting small forward on Ohio State’s 1999 Final Four team. He was a high school basketball standout at Lexington High School in Ohio. A four-year varsity starter, he was named an All-America honorable mention by USA Today and Street & Smith's, while adding All-Ohio first team and Division II Player of the Year in 1997.
Sanderson and his wife Jennifer (Sessor) have three children, Jonathan and twins, Joshua and Jillian, and reside in Saline, Michigan. Sanderson's oldest, Jonathan, is ranked as the No. 1 freshman in the State of Michigan as a basketball recruit.
EDUCATION
• M.S. Recreation and Sport Sciences, Strength and Conditioning Focus, Ohio University, 2002
• B.S. Organizational Communications, Business Focus, Ohio University, 2001
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS
• Master Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCC), 2016
• Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA), 2003
• Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (CSCC) 2013
• United States Weightlifting Level 1 Club Coach (USA Weightlifting), 2003
• Functional Movement Systems Level 1 (FMS), 2013
• Titleist Performance Institute Fitness Instructor Level 1 (TPI) 2011
• Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (NSCA) 2012
• CPR/AED Certified (American Red Cross) 2002
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
• Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Olympic Sports (University of Michigan, 2009-present)
• Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach/Head Basketball Strength and Conditioning Coach (Clemson University, 2006-09)
• Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Olympic Sports (Marshall University, 2003-06)
• Strength and Conditioning Intern (University of North Carolina, 2002-03)
ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE/INTERESTS
• Ohio University Alumni Scholar Athlete Award (2002)
• Mid-American All-Academic Team (2001)
• Starter: Ohio State Final Four Team (1998-99)
• USA Today and Street & Smith's All-American honorable mention (1997)
• Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division II Player of the Year (1997)
• Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division II first team (1997), third team (1996)
SPORT ASSIGNMENTS: Men's Basketball, Men's and Women's Golf
