Jason Cooper became the 14th head coach in the history of the Flying Queens on June 17, 2021.
A native of Crandall located east of Dallas, Cooper already had a history with the Flying Queens’ rich history. Following his two-year basketball playing career with the WBU Pioneers from 1997-99 that saw him earn All-Sooner Athletic Conference and NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors as a 6-foot-6 post and take home the prestigious Roscoe Snyder Award as Wayland’s most outstanding male athlete, Cooper served as graduate assistant coach for the Flying Queens and later assistant coach alongside his sister-in-law, Johnna Pointer. (Jason is married to WBU graduate Amanda Pointer, an early childhood instructor. They have two children: current Flying Queen Jenna and eighth-grader Johnathan.)
Jason, who earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at WBU, joined Johnna on the bench for the final two of her seven seasons as head coach, guiding the Flying Queens to the NAIA Elite Eight in their final campaign together in 2003.
Cooper went on to serve as head basketball coach at area high schools in Cotton Center (boys), Olton, Sudan, Amarillo (Tascosa) and Claude, winning more than 75 percent of his games and compiling an impressive record of 413-133. His teams never failed to make the state playoffs, amassing eight district titles, eight regional tournament appearances, three regional titles, three state tournament appearances and a state championship at Sudan in 2009 when he was named Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year.
Cooper also has been an active coach in club and AAU basketball, claiming four national crowns and four more national runner-up titles.
Since 2004, Cooper has served as coach, instructor and director in Pointer’s Hoop 10 Basketball in Amarillo. He and wife Amanda also own and operate Coop’s Training & Apparel in Amarillo.
Now, Cooper is head coach of the Flying Queens, and he couldn’t be more excited.
“Over the past 25 years as a Wayland student-athlete, coach and now a parent, I have used the lessons learned from this program as the building blocks for a successful coaching career,” Cooper said. “Everywhere I go I see the countless connections and the influence of the Flying Queens program.
“The Christian mission and athletic excellence that the program stands for are special and rare in today's world. I want to build upon the program’s past success, increase the program's footprint in West Texas, and push the program to new heights. I want every little girl baller in West Texas to want to be a Flying Queen.”
Cooper’s first campaign as Queens coach went rather well. In 2021-22, the team went 33-4 – the program’s most wins in more than 40 years – won both the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships for the third straight year, and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament round of 16 sporting a No. 8 national ranking. Two Flying Queens -- Kaylee Edgemon and Jenna Cooper -- were named NAIA All-American.
