Morehead State basketball coach resigns after assaulting players during game

Morehead State Eagles men’s basketball coach Sean Woods has resigned, after two players told police he hit them during a recent game

Morehead State University is in the news after the Eagles’ basketball coach resigned on Thursday. Sean Woods, head coach of the men’s basketball team, is now facing a misdemeanor battery charge for hitting two of his players during a game at the University of Evansville. Jeff Goodman of ESPN broke the news.

Malik Maitland and Soufiyane Diakite, two players for the Eagles’ team, told a Morehead State police officer that Woods assaulted them during a game last month. The game in question was on November 19, when the Eagles traveled to the University of Evansville.

Maitland told the officer that Woods backhanded him in the chest during halftime. Diakte said he was shoved during a timeout and once in the locker room. Their report to the police led to Woods’ suspension, which he had been serving since November 22.

It’s not the first altercation that Woods has had with a player. Four years ago, Morehead State suspended him for one game for berating a player on the bench during a loss at Kentucky. He appeared to make contact with the player, but would apologize for the exchange.

Morehead State has since announced that assistant Preston Spradlin will assume the interim role until a nationwide search for a full-time head coach can be completed. MSU athletic director Brian Hutchinson said during an interview that a full search will take place after the Christmas holiday. The Eagles are 2-7, having now lost seven straight. The last five of those have come during Woods’ suspension.

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Morehead State is located about an hour east of Lexington. The Eagles play in the Ohio Valley Conference. They made headlines in the 2011 March Madness tournament, when they upset Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals in the opening round of the tournament. .