Circleville hires former Vinton County coach Brett Jones as girls head coach

Circleville has turned to a familiar Southeast Ohio name to lead its girls basketball program, hiring Brett Jones after his run at Vinton County left a clear hole back home in McArthur.

Jones most recently served as a teacher and coach at Vinton County, where he had been an 8th grade math teacher at Vinton County Middle School since 2019. On his Google Sites e-portfolio, Jones said he was starting his fifth year in the classroom and his third year as Vinton County’s varsity girls basketball head coach, a résumé that tied him closely to both the school and the program’s day-to-day identity.

That connection matters in Vinton County because Jones was more than a sideline figure. He graduated from Vinton County High School in 2014, earned a degree from Ohio Christian University in 2019, and was pursuing a master’s degree in Educational Administration through Grand Canyon University. For athletes, parents and school leaders, his departure removes a coach who represented continuity across the classroom and the gym.

Jones’ first season as Vinton County’s head coach in 2021-22 was one of the program’s stronger recent years. The Lady Vikings finished 17-4, won the TVC Ohio for a fifth straight season, claimed a sectional title and advanced to the district finals. That run helped establish Jones as one of the more successful young coaches in the area, and in March 2022 he was selected to coach the Ohio girls team in the Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis All-Star Basketball Classic.

His ties to the Lady Vikings remained visible well into last winter. In February 2025, coverage of Vinton County’s 64-25 win over Wellston still identified Jones as the girls head coach, underscoring how recently he remained part of the program’s public face.

Circleville’s decision comes after a landmark season of its own. Under Josh Blakeman, the Tigers went 23-5, reached the Division IV state Final Four for the first time in school history and later saw Blakeman named Division IV Coach of the Year by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association. Jones steps into a program that has raised its standard fast, and his arrival gives Circleville another coach with proven postseason credentials.

The hire also fits a broader investment in the Circleville athletic program. Circleville Athletic Boosters has helped fund equipment, uniforms, team meals and facility improvements, while also helping keep the district free of pay-to-play fees. For Circleville, Jones brings experience. For Vinton County, his departure raises the same question any successful rural program faces when a coach moves on: how much of the program’s momentum walks out the door with him.