College basketball coach stepping away after hospitalization for medical emergency

Southern Miss basketball head coach Jay Ladner is stepping away from as he recovers from a recent medical emergency.

The school announced Tuesday that Ladner was hospitalized following a heart-related emergency. He is expected to make a full recovery.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jay and his family as he works to make a full recovery,” Southern Miss Director of Athletics Jeremy McClain said in a release. “We will continue to support our coaches and student-athletes at the highest level while he is away from the team.”

Southern Miss is preparing to face Old Dominion on Wednesday. Associate head coach Juan Cardona will act as head coach during Ladner’s absence.

Ladner, 58, is a Hattiesburg native. After two decades as a high school coach, he stepped up to the JUCO ranks at Jones County in 2012. He has been Southern Miss’ head coach since 2019, after coaching Southeastern Louisiana from 2014-19.

At Southern Miss, Ladner has a 61-84 record. Southern Miss went 25-8 last season, winning the Sun Belt and going to the NIT. Ladner was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

The Golden Eagles are 12-11 overall and 6-5 in conference play so far during the 2023-24 season.

Program Statement Regarding Health of Jay Ladnerhttps://t.co/SYsQaiaS0i

— Southern Miss MBB (@SouthernMissMBB) February 6, 2024

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.