Ben Veshi, who led the Hargrave Military Academy prep basketball team to an 80 percent win rate, will join the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball program as an assistant coach, according to an April 30 announcement.
Veshi’s appointment is notable due to his strong record in developing players and achieving success at the prep level. In three seasons as head coach of Hargrave’s prep team, he achieved a record of 109-27 and secured the 2025-26 Elite Prep League Championship. His teams made three appearances in the National Prep Championship Tournament, with his most recent squad finishing ninth in national rankings.
Veshi spent a decade at Hargrave in various coaching roles. As varsity head coach from 2016 to 2020, he set a program record for wins in a season and reached four consecutive Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Elite Eight tournaments. After working as an assistant and associate head coach for the prep team, he became its head coach in 2023.
“Ben is someone I’ve known for a long time, and I have a great deal of respect for him,” EKU Head Coach A.W. Hamilton said. “He’s a relentless worker and an elite relationship builder. What he’s done at Hargrave is extremely impressive – developing players, recruiting at an extremely high level and winning championships year after year. Ben has a strong reputation in this profession and is very connected in grassroots basketball. I’m very excited to have him, his wife Katrina and their daughter Kailyn join our basketball family.”
During his tenure at Hargrave, Veshi was involved with recruiting or coaching more than ninety future NCAA Division I athletes. He also served as college counselor from 2017 to 2022 and athletic director from 2020 to 2023.
Veshi previously worked as an assistant coach at Catawba College from 2014 to 2016 after graduating with degrees from Catawba College, Nichols College, and Arkansas State University.
