MSU Moorhead Athletics

Jason Kemp was named the 15th head men's basketball coach in Minnesota State Moorhead history on May 1, 2025. The 2026-27 season will be Kemp's second as head coach in Moorhead. 

The Dragons finished Kemp's inaugural season with a 14-16 overall record, including 10 NSIC victories. True freshman point guard Isa El-Amin was named All-NSIC Second Team after leading the Dragons in scoring, assists and steals throughout the year. Kemp's outfit entered the NSIC Tournament as a 10 seed, eventually upending seventh-seeded Northern State in the first round. The first head coaching victory of Kemp's career came at home, defeating 17th-ranked (and eventual Elite Eight qualifier) Black Hills State on November 21, 2025.
 
Prior to MSUM, Kemp most recently was an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. While on the Golden Gopher staff, Kemp helped guide the program to an NIT second round berth in 2024. Kemp was instrumental in the development of several key players for the Gophers, including forward Dawson Garcia. Under Kemp's tutelage, Garcia was a two-time All-Big Ten selection, including earning second team honors in 2024-25. 
 
The Madison, Wis., native had several other development successes with the Golden Gophers, including Cam Christie, Elijah Hawkins, Pharrel Payne and Talon Cooper. Christie was an All-Big Ten Freshman Team selection in 2023-24 and was eventually a second-round draft pick of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. Kemp also helped grow the game of former Gopher Jamison Battle, who is currently with the Toronto Raptors organization. 
 
Prior to his work at Minnesota, Kemp spent a pair of seasons at NCAA Division I William & Mary of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). During the 2019-20 season, The Tribe won a school record 21 games, including a 13-5 mark in CAA competition. Kemp helped forward Nathan Knight to CAA Player of the Year honors. Knight was also named the Lou Henson National Mid-Major Player of the Year and Basketball Times National Mid-Major Player of the Year after averaging 20.7 points and 10.5 rebounds in 2020. Guard Luke Loewe was also a CAA All-Defensive selection for The Tribe. 
 
Kemp spent eight seasons in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) prior to William & Mary. He spent seven years as an assistant coach at Ohio University, most notably aiding the development of guard Jason Preston, who was a two-time All-MAC selection. Preston eventually became a second-round pick of the Orlando Magic in 2021. 
 
Kemp was also instrumental in the development of forward Antonio Campbell, who was named MAC Player of the Year in 2016 while also earning AP Honorable Mention All-America. While at Ohio, Kemp helped bring along forward Maurice N'Dour, who would later play for the New York Knicks. 
 
In 2013-14, Kemp spent a season at the University of Toledo, helping guide the Rockets to a MAC regular season co-championship. Toledo qualified for the NIT that season and finished the year ranked in the Mid-Major Top-25 poll. 
 
Kemp spent six seasons across the Red River in Fargo, N.D., at North Dakota State University, first as a graduate assistant (2007) and then as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator (2007-13). Kemp was a member of the Bison staff that helped push NDSU to its first NCAA Tournament berth in 2009. The Bison also made College Basketball Invitational (CBI) appearances in 2012 and 2013. Kemp helped create a pair of Summit League Players of the Year in Bison legends Taylor Braun and Ben Woodside. 
 
MSU Moorhead is where Kemp started in the coaching profession in 2004. Kemp was brought on as an assistant coach under former bench boss Stu Engen. He was also heavily involved in the AAU coaching circuit, leading ECI's Prospect Program in Fargo. 
 
A native of Madison, Wis., Kemp played four years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and earned his bachelor's degree in exercise sport science in 2004. He also received a master's degree in sports management from North Dakota State in 2007.
 
Kemp and his wife Michelyn have two children, Violet and Zander.