Wade Mason, Jr. named St. Augustine basketball coach

ST. AUGUSTINE HIGH SCHOOL NAMES ALUM WADE MASON, JR. AS HEAD BASKETBALL COACH

New Orleans, Louisiana – May 7, 2024 – St. Augustine High School, announced the hiring of Wade Mason, Jr. as Head Coach of the Purple Knights basketball program. Mason was an assistant last year working on the staff of Coach Gerald Lewis, who moved on from the Purple Knights last month. This will be Coach Mason’s first stint as a head coach.

“We are excited to name Wade Mason, Jr. as the next head coach of St. Augustine High School Basketball. Wade has a great vision for the program that values process over results and we are excited for the future,” said Ryan Sims, Sr., Director of Athletics and Activities.

Prior to joining the Purple Knights last season, Mason spent a decade plus in the collegiate ranks as an Assistant Head Basketball Coach at the University of Georgia, Stephen F. Austin, Oral Roberts and a Graduate Assistant at the University of Oklahoma.

I am very excited and humbled for this opportunity. I was blessed to have coached at the highest level in college. To come back home means everything to me. Too many people go through life without knowing their purpose. I’ve found mine. I’m looking forward to impacting lives. Coaching is the easy part; real life is hard. I’m a two-time cancer survivor, with a daughter who has sickle cell anemia, that’s hard,” said Mason, Jr.

A 1995 alum of the Purple Knights, Mason played on the 1995 USA Today National Champion team at St. Augustine. He then went on to play two seasons at Tyler Junior College and two seasons with Tulane University, helping the Green Wave to a Conference USA Division Championship and a berth in the NIT. Mason earned a bachelor’s degree in Media Arts and Business Studies from Tulane University.

For inquiries and further information, please contact Director of Athletics and Activities, Ryan Sims, Sr. at rsims@purpleknights.com.