In four seasons as Portland State’s Head Coach, Jase Coburn has built a program in his image, based on effort, toughness and team unity.
The 2024-25 season produced Coburn’s best team yet. The Vikings completed the season with a 19-13 record - the best in his tenure and the best record by the program since a 20-14 mark in 2017-18. PSU’s 11-7 Big Sky Conference record was good for third place - the best finish since the 2011-12 season.
Moreover, the Vikings turned their own Viking Pavilion into a “House of Horrors” for opponents, going 13-1 at home, including winning the last 11 in a row. PSU has won 12 straight Big Sky Conference home games heading into the 2025-26 season and is 23-4 at home over the past two seasons.
The 2024-25 season produced a myriad of highlights with the Vikings featuring Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Tre-Vaughn Minott, All-Big Sky choice Terri Miller Jr. and a backcourt of Qiant Myers and Jaylin Henderson that were honorable mention All-Big Sky. The Vikings led the Big Sky in scoring defense (65.8), field goal percentage defense (.419), three-point defense (.274), turnovers forced (13.1), steals (7.4) and blocks (4.4) in league games.
On the academic side, PSU had five players earn Academic All-Big Sky Conference, four named to the NABC Honors Court, and compiled a 3.17 team GPA.
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In season one of his tenure as head coach, Coburn showed the impact he can make at Portland State.
The Vikings were struggling through the 2021-22 campaign, sitting at 4-13 overall and 2-7 in the Big Sky Conference. A myriad of injuries, a struggling offense and then another wave of COVID-19 had the Vikings down as they often had only nine or 10 players available for games. That is when Coburn made the bold move of transitioning his team midseason. The Vikings went from a bigger, defensive-oriented unit to a four-guard, small-ball lineup. The results were stunning as the Vikings won eight of their next 10 games. After averaging 67.7 points in the first half of the season, the Vikings averaged 78.8 points in the second half. The team shooting percentage improved from .402 to .457.
The post-season was no different as Portland State won its first two games in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, including knocking off number-two seed Southern Utah. PSU advanced to the semifinals. A second-half lead in the semis against number-three Northern Colorado didn’t last, but the work was done as PSU had re-established itself in the Big Sky Conference conversation.
PSU finished the season at 14-17 overall, 10-10 in the Big Sky. Most important, the energy that Coburn brought to the program as its new head coach had rubbed off on his team, setting the stage for the future.
In 2022-23, the Vikings took another big step under Coburn, beating Oregon State for the first time in school history. Then, the Vikings beat the Beavers again, a week later.
Over the season, Portland State played a myriad of close games, including nine decided by four points or less (going 5-4). Although PSU was 6-11 in conference play, the Vikings held second-half leads in 14 games (winning six).
Season three was the best to date for Coburn and his Vikings. He led PSU to a 17-15 record - its best in five seasons. An 11-2 home record marked the best home winning percentage in 15 seasons (.846). Most important, the Vikings proved to be clutch, winning three games with shots at the buzzer, and going 10-6 in close games (seven points or less), 5-2 in games of three points or less, and 2-0 in overtime.
PSU’s non-conference play was among its best in any season in the Big Sky Conference era (1996 to present). While level of play and quality of schedule has varied over the years, it is worth noting that the Vikings matched their best-ever five- (5-0), six- (5-1), seven- (6-1) nine- (7-2), 10- (8-2) and 12-game (9-3) records in program history. PSU’s five- and six-game records were the best-ever during the Big Sky Conference era.
BACKGROUND
Make no mistake, Jase Coburn is hungry…
After years of effort, toil and passion, Jase Coburn’s lifelong dream - to be a college basketball head coach - came true. Coburn was named Portland State’s new men’s basketball coach on April 16, 2021 by then-Director of Athletics Valerie Cleary.
His introductory press conference revealed a lot about the man, including the toughness that those who knew within the Portland State Athletic Department were already aware. And, it created a national media flurry. The fact that he didn’t eat breakfast so he would “be hungry” when he got to work… the fact that he drove an old 2003 Chevy Tahoe with no heat or AC… Somehow, that got him interviews and mentions in Atlanta, Chicago, and Phoenix, as well as Portland. It made news on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, and at SI.com.
Ironically, it belied the fact that Coburn is about as ego-less as a college basketball coach can be.
Coburn had been the Associate Head Coach of the Viking program since 2018 and part of PSU since arriving as an assistant coach in 2013.
“In his eight years at Portland State University, Coach Coburn has recruited some of the best talent to our men’s basketball program,” Cleary said. “He has proven himself to be an outstanding coach, recruiter, and department colleague. After a very competitive national search, there was no doubt that Coach Coburn exemplified what we were looking for for the next era of Viking Basketball.”
Coburn took over the Viking program as the 14th head coach in its history, and seventh since Portland State joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. His experience prior to coming to PSU includes coaching stops on the high school and junior college levels.
“I’m extremely ecstatic. This is a dream come true for me and my family,” said Coburn. “It has been a goal of mine to be the head coach at Portland State. I appreciate the support of our administration, our athletic staff and coaches, the university, our current and former players. It really means the world to me.
“I’ve worked my whole life to get to this point right now. And to be here is a dream come true.”
Coburn played an instrumental role in recruiting at Portland State over the years, particularly with the addition of top scorers DaShaun Wiggins and Cameron Forte, top transfer Calaen Robinson and many other Arizona prospects including PSU’s all-time leader in assists and steals, Holland Woods.
Prior to coming to Portland State, Coburn gained a wealth of coaching experience. Though only 37 when he was named Head Coach, Coburn had already been coaching for 18 years, including a dozen years at the junior college and Division I levels. He was an assistant at Howard (TX) Junior College. Howard went 53-14 over the two seasons he was there, winning an NJCAA Region 5 Championship and reaching the NJCAA National Tournament final eight. Howard was a top-10 ranked program those two seasons.
Coburn was the Head Coach at McClintock High School in Tempe, AZ from 2007 to 2011. At 23, he was one of the youngest head coaches ever to be hired in Arizona, and by 26 had led the team to a state title. Coburn’s 2009-10 team won the 4A state championship, and two other times his teams reached the quarterfinals. He was the consensus Arizona 4A Coach of the Year in 2009-10. Overall, his teams compiled a 74-39 record.
Coburn was an assistant coach at Phoenix College from 2005 to 2007 when the team twice reached the national tournament. He spent one season as an assistant coach at Corona del Sol (AZ) HS in 2004-05. He has also coached AAU basketball (Arizona Rage, 2003-07; and Compton Magic, 2011).
A native of Mesa, AZ, Coburn played basketball at Mesquite High School and MiraCosta College. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education-History from Arizona State (2006). He is married to the former Lindsay Meiggs, and they have two sons, Kyler (5), and Tayson (2), with daughter, Ren, born this past August.
THE JASE COBURN FILE
13th year at Portland State, 5th year as Head Coach
Hometown: Mesa, AZ
Alma Mater: Arizona State, 2006, Secondary Education-History
Playing Career: MiraCosta College, 2002-04
Date of Birth: September 16, 1983
Family: Wife, Lindsay; sons, Kyler (5) and Tayson (2), and daughter, Ren
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2021-25 Portland State, Head Coach (62-64)
2021-22: 14-17, Big Sky: 10-10, 7th
2022-23: 12-19, Big Sky: 6-11, 7th
2023-24: 17-15, Big Sky: 8-10, 6th
2024-25: 19-13, Big Sky: 11-7, 3rd
2018-21 Portland State, Associate Head Coach
2013-18 Portland State, Assistant Coach
2011-13 Howard (TX) JC, Assistant Coach
2007-11 McClintock HS, Head Coach
2005-07 Phoenix JC, Assistant Coach
2004-05 Corona del Sol HS, Assistant Coach
JASE COBURN IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE COLLEGE BASKETBALL COACH. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW…
Viking faithful got to know new Head Coach Jase Coburn over the years as he came to Portland State as an assistant under Tyler Geving in 2013. When Barret Peery took over the program in 2017, his first move was to keep Coburn on staff. He elevated Jase to the title of Associate Head Coach in 2018.
Most of that information is common knowledge. What many don't know is the unique path Coburn took to get here, and the fact that he has been a coach at the high school, AAU and junior college levels. All Coburn ever wanted in life, since he was a child, was to be a college basketball coach. But his route was not traditional. Whenever someone talks about "paying their dues", Jase knows his story can't be beaten.
- At age 18, Coburn became a head coach for the first time. He formed an AAU team in Arizona, and coached 16-17 year olds, some weekends driving them to Las Vegas for tournaments. "Those parents put a lot of trust in me."
- At 21, Coburn became assistant coach at Phoenix Junior College. He routinely coached players older than him, some as old as 27.
- At 23, he was named head coach at McClintock (AZ) High School, where he stayed four seasons. By the age of 26, he had led McClintock to the Arizona state title, becoming the youngest coach in history to do so, and the youngest to be named Arizona State 4A Coach of the Year.
- At 27, he moved on to junior college powerhouse Howard (TX) to be an assistant under then-coach Mark Adams. He lived in the dorm with the players.
- At 29, Coburn came to Portland State to be an assistant coach, hired by Tyler Geving. He drove to Portland in his 2003 Chevy Tahoe with just a twin mattress, a TV and a suitcase of clothes. He subsisted on a box of pasta and pasta sauce, iceberg lettuce and ranch dressing each night while sleeping on his mattress on the floor in low-income housing. Jase soon had a major impact on the Viking program. Coburn played an instrumental role in recruiting top players to Portland State. They included the addition of top scorers DaShaun Wiggins and Cameron Forte, key transfer point guard Calaen Robinson and many other Arizona prospects including PSU's all-time leader in assists and steals, Holland Woods. Under Peery, the Vikings began to make waves as an exciting program that year-in and year-out was among the nation's best in forcing turnovers, steals, rebounding margin and offensive rebounding. Coburn was the coordinator of that defense. He was proven to be such a passionate leader, he had the role of the team's pre-game talk under Barret Peery.
- In 2019-20, Portland State went into the Big Sky Conference Tournament as the hottest team in the league, having won six in a row. They were considered a true contender for the title and a chance at the NCAA Tournament. Then, on the day the Vikings were to play their first game in Boise, ID, the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. Not to be deterred, Coburn still had a story to tell. He and fiance Lindsay Meiggs (Portland State Athletics Academic Advisor) had a May wedding planned. But with the pandemic raging, they were concerned it would prevent them from having their big day. As the team was waiting for an opportunity to fly home, Coburn and Meiggs decided to go ahead with their wedding right then and there. With an assist from the Big Sky Conference and Idaho Central Arena (home of the tournament), the couple got married at center court in front of the entire basketball team, staff members and several relatives who were in town for the tournament. The ceremony made news, rightfully so, around the country. Happily, a year later, Lindsay and Jase welcomed their first child, a son named Kyler, to the family.
- Now, after all the time and work he has put in, Jase Coburn has finally realized his dream of becoming a Division I Head Coach. Oh, and he is still driving that 2003 Tahoe.
