Jason Nichols enters his fourth year as athletic director and women’s basketball coach at Morton College.
In both roles, Nichols has guided the Panthers to national prominence. The women’s basketball program is recognized as a National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association Division II powerhouse, while other sports have reached new heights. Also under Nichols’ watch, women’s wrestling and women’s golf have been added as intercollegiate sports at Morton College.
The academic side of the house also has flourished. During the 2022-23 school year, Morton College produced 27 NJCAA and 76 Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference All-Academic recipients. Over the last three years, a student-athlete has received Morton College’s top award at Commencement – the Robert M. Hale Award, which is presented to the graduated with the highest grade-point average.
Nichols’ record over three seasons at Morton College is 81-6 and 671-100 lifetime. The Panthers have been nationally ranked for 40 consecutive weeks and received the college’s first No. 1 ranking in school history for any sport on January 23, 2023.
Morton College is a perfect 41-0 at home in Nichols’ tenure. The Panthers also have won 58 straight games against in-state opponents as well as 26 consecutive contests in Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference action.
He is a three-time Region IV Coach of the Year and the 2023 Skyway Conference Coach of the Year.
Morton College also hosts a 16-team girls basketball holiday tournament, which is proving to be a barometer for how teams will fare at the IHSA state tournament in March. Three Class 4A semifinalists (Benet, Geneva and Hersey) and one Class 3A semifinalist (Deerfield) from 2022-23 all were part of the Morton College field. The 2021 tournament produced one Class 4A semifinalist in Benet.
Nichols’ year-by-year at Morton College:
2022-2023
Morton College’s quest to play for a championship again began with a blaze of glory as the Panthers came out of the gate with a school-record 32 straight wins before losing to Richard Bland in the NJCAA Division II quarterfinals. The Panthers, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, closed with wins over Johnson County and Bryant & Stratton to place fifth nationally and end the year with a 34-1 record. It also was the first time any basketball team at Morton College produced back-to-back 30-win seasons.
The Panthers led the country in made three-pointers with 468 and were second in defensive average (45.5 points per game allowed) and assists (21.9). Morton College’s 88.5 points per game placed fourth in the country.
Mia Simpson led the country in field-goal percentage (71.2) and offensive rebounds (205), while Claire Hyde’s 138 three-pointers put her on the national leaderboard. Simpson also was second nationally with 141 steals and third with 404 total rebounds. She also became the third women’s basketball player in Morton College to score 1,000 career points.
Jovanna Martinucci’s assists-to-turnover ratio of 4.1 was fourth nationally and Jalyssa Carrasco’s 108 three-pointer put her fifth in the country.
Morton College also had three players reach the 600-point mark for the first time in program history as Kaylen Evans (623), Simpson (608) and Hyde (600) placed sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively, in the nation.
The Panthers also had a pair of NJCAA All-Americans in Hyde (First Team) and Evans (Second Team) as well as the Skyway Conference and Region IV Player of the Year in Simpson.
Eight players moved on to play at four-year schools with Hyde (Belmont), Evans (Lindenwood) and Simpson (Pitt) all receiving NCAA Division I scholarships. Moving on to the NCAA Division II levels are Fran Metz (Missouri S & T) and Carrasco (Roosevelt). Martinucci and Josylin Simmons-Doxie are off to NCAA Division III North Central and Gianine Boado to NAIA St. Francis.
Morton College captured its third straight Region IV championship defeating Rock Valley 96-68 behind Simpson’s career-high 38 points. The Panthers also won back-to-back Skyway Conference titles for the first time in 23 years, going a dominating 14-0 by outscoring their opponents 95.9 to 39.0 and putting five starters in double-figures. Morton College also reached the century mark five times in Skyway play.
2021-22
Morton College grabbed the nation’s attention with the Panthers’ run to the national championship game as a No. 7 seed. Along the way, the Panthers extended their winning streak to a then-record 26 games with victories over No. 2 Johnson County in the quarterfinals and No. 3 CCBC Essex in the semifinals.
Morton College was the highest seeded team to advanced to the finals since No. 9 Union County in 2019. The Panthers lost to top-seeded Kirkwood, but the foundation was laid for the following season with a 30-3 record. It was Morton College's first appearance in a NJCAA championship game in school history.
The Panthers led the country in defensive average (45.2) and were second in three-pointers with 394. Morton College was fourth in assists (20.6) and eighth in scoring average (80.4).
Mia Simpson’s 64.2 percent field goal average and Tadriana Heard’s 131 three-pointers led the nation. Heard and Dylan Van Fleet, both named NJCAA All-Americans, were the program’s first pair of players to score 500 points in the same season. Heard finished with 550 points and Van Fleet, 505.
The Panthers captured their second straight Region IV crown with a 101-51 win over Black Hawk Moline. They also were Skyway Conference champions for the first time in 22 years, running the table with a 12-0 mark. Only one game was decided by less than double digits.
Heard was the Skyway Conference MVP and Region IV Player of the Year. She transferred to NCAA Division II Purdue Northwest, while Van Fleet took her talents to NCAA Division I UIC.
2020-21
In a COVID-19 shortened season, Nichols didn’t take long to put Morton College in the national spotlight.
The high water point for women’s basketball at Morton College prior to Nichols’ arrival were back-to-back conference championships in 1999 and 2000.
In year one, Nichols led the Panthers to the program’s first NJCAA national tournament appearance, first national ranking and first Region IV championship. It was an exciting brand of basketball with Panthers leading the country in three-pointers made (13 per game), three-pointers attempted (39 per game) and assists (22 per game). Morton College’s record 78.9 points per game also was top 10 nationally.
The Panthers also were double-digits for three-pointers in all but five games, dropping a program-record 21 on Triton in a 92-52 win March 27, 2021. Morton College also scored over 90 points in five times.
With a 17-2 record, Morton College’s .895 winning percentage was the best in program history. A nine-game win streak was the longest in college annals and the Panthers’ No. 12 national ranking also was another best.
He coached the program’s first NJCAA All-American player in Tadriana Heard and reached the 600-win milestone for his career when the Panthers defeated Bryant & Stratton 75-69 March 3, 2021 at home.
Morton College claimed its first Region IV title in women’s basketball history by topping Bryant & Stratton 92-66. The Panthers were unable to participate at nationals due to a case of COVID-19 in the program.
More about Nichols:
The Richter scale, used to measure the strength of earthquakes, was triggered for the first time in Morton College’s history when it announced the hiring of Nichols, one of the most successful girls basketball coaches in Illinois high school history.
Former MC men’s basketball player Chris Palermo, who scored 863 points in the 1985-86 season before going on to play NCAA D-1 men’s basketball at St. Francis in Brooklyn, said when Nichols was hired, “That’s a great hire. I watched him during a practice once and he was impressive. Always like guys that have a big work ethic and go the extra mile. He will win at MC right away.”
The high-energy Nichols, a member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame, went 590-94 in 20 seasons at Montini and Trinity high schools.
Over 17 seasons at Montini, Nichols compiled a 521-72 record, putting him in the top 20 for all-time wins by a coach at one school. The Broncos won four state titles, with a three-peat in Class 3A in 2010, 2011 and 2012. They also were runners-up once and third five other times. They also racked up 15 sectional championships and hosted one of the state’s top tier Christmas holiday tournaments.
During the last 11 years at Montini, Nichols’ teams won 91 percent of their games with a 363-36 record. The Broncos averaged 33 wins per season in that span. In conference play, Montini went 171-3 with all three losses coming in overtime.
Nichols, a graduate of Lyons Township High School, has a stellar reputation for getting players ready for the next level. Since 2006, 29 Broncos went on to play NCAA Division I college basketball.
When the Daily Herald prep sports section listed its top high school dynasties in the past 20 years, Montini girls basketball was ranked fifth.
“We are elated to bring on someone with the reputation for excellence as Jason Nichols as our women’s basketball coach,” then Morton College athletic director John Treiber said on Nichols’ hiring. “His passion for basketball and bringing out the best in everyone is unmatched.”
