Chris Jans
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Mississippi State |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 63–40 (.612) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | April 12, 1969 Fairbank, Iowa, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1987–1991 | Loras |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1991–1994 | Elmhurst (assistant) |
| 1994–1996 | Grand View (assistant) |
| 1996–1998 | Kirkwood CC |
| 1998–1999 | Independence CC |
| 1999–2001 | Idaho (assistant) |
| 2001–2003 | Howard JC |
| 2003–2004 | Chipola |
| 2004–2007 | Illinois State (assistant) |
| 2007–2014 | Wichita State (assistant) |
| 2014–2015 | Bowling Green |
| 2015–2017 | Wichita State (special assistant) |
| 2017–2022 | New Mexico State |
| 2022–present | Mississippi State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 206–84 (.710) (college) 159–45 (.779) (junior college) |
| Tournaments | 1–6 (NCAA) 1–1 (CIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NJCAA Division II tournament (1998) 2 ICCAC regular season (1997, 1998) Panhandle regular season (2004) 4 WAC regular season (2018–2020, 2022) 3 WAC tournament (2018, 2019, 2022) | |
| Awards | |
| NJCAA Division II Coach of the Year (1998) 3× WAC Coach of the Year (2018–2020) | |
Christopher Paul Jans (born April 12, 1969) is and American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team. Jans previously coached at New Mexico State, where he led the Aggies from 2017 to 2022. Jans is a graduate of Loras College, and hails from Fairbank, Iowa.
Prior to New Mexico State, Jans was hired by Bowling Green in March 2014—his first Division I job. He led Bowling Green to its most wins in 13 years. However, on March 21—shortly after losing to Canisius in the 2nd round of the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, a drunken Jans was seen engaging in lewd and inappropriate behavior toward women at a bar near campus. A Bowling Green alumnus recorded Jans on his cell phone, and was so outraged by what he saw that he reported the incident to school officials. Following an internal investigation, Bowling Green fired Jans for violating a morals clause in his contract.
Jans led New Mexico State to a 27–7 record in 2021–22, including an NCAA Tournament victory. He finished with a 122–32 mark at New Mexico State, winning four regular-season and three Western Athletic Conference tournament championships. On March 20, 2022, Jans was hired as head coach at Mississippi State.