Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) head men’s basketball coach Nate James has announced a trio of additions to fill out his first staff at the helm of the program, welcoming in Jason Quarles (Strength and Conditioning), Jerel Chavis (Player Development) and Graham Dale (Graduate Assistant) for the 2021-22 season.
Quarles joins the Governors after serving a similar role for men’s basketball and women’s tennis at IUPUI since 2014 after earning his kinesiology degree from IUPUI in 2012.
In 2004, the Indianapolis native was seventh-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a pitcher and a year later was rated as the top relief-pitching prospect in the Pirates organization by Baseball America.
After his professional baseball career ended in 2007, Quarles returned home to work with student-athletes at Indianapolis Metropolitan High School. He later worked in the Toronto Blue Jays organization as a minor league strength and conditioning coach, while also working for the Indianapolis-based Dugan’s Sports Performance.
Quarles’ notable clientele include current MLB standouts Noah Syndergaard, Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman and Joe Musgrove, among others.
Quarles is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). He’s also a registered Strength and Conditioning Coach through the College Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (SCCC) and attained both CSCS*D and RSCC*D designations from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
Chavis joins the staff after finishing a 12-year career overseas which took him to far-flung locales from Australia, Estonia, Singapore, Slovakia, Italy, Austria and Indonesia, among other stops.
Chavis has been on James’ radar since he starred at Southern Durham High School as an all-conference player as a junior and senior. From there, he played at Aiken Community College and Delaware State and graduated with psychology degree before embarking on his professional career.
He is married to Megan, and the couple has one son, Jaxan.
Dale graduated from North Carolina in May 2021 with a degree in exercise and sport science. During his time in Chapel Hill, he assisted with the men’s basketball junior varsity team. He also was a student assistant for the Tar Heels, first under Hubert Davis and then Brad Frederick, where he played an active role during practice. He also was the head coach of the seventh-grade boys’ basketball team at Trinity School in Durham during the 2020-21 season.
Dale worked camps at Duke, North Carolina Central and for ESPN analyst Chris Spatola. He is originally from Durham, North Carolina.
