Bio

Justin Cellars enters his second season as the Head Coach of the Runnin’ Lopes men’s basketball team.

During his first season at the helm in 2020-21, Cellars compiled an 11-11 record during the COVID-shortened season. The Lopes finished 6-4 in Region IX play and drew the number three seed which earned them a first round tournament game at home for the first time in three seasons. Lamar would win 88-65 against Trinidad State and advanced to the quarterfinals where they would later fall to Eastern Wyoming. Lamar had two of the top scorers in the country, Khalil Haywood (21.3) and Kevon Wiggins (20.2). Both earned all-region honors (Haywood 1st Team and Wiggins 2nd team) while both were later selected to the JA48 which is one of the top showcases in all of JUCO basketball.

Cellars moved into the position after holding the title of assistant coach under Coach Rian Stubbs through 2018-2020. In his two seasons with the program they have achieved back to back winning seasons. Cellars oversaw the teams player development the past two years and developed the likes of third team all-region performer Jubile Belo (Montana State), honorable mention all-region Brevin Brimble (Central Baptist College) and a second team all-region selection in Blayton Williams (Wisconsin-Green Bay) during the 2019-20 campaign. The Lopes also got it in done in the classroom led by Academic All-American's Blayton Williams and Jordan Wilson. The team posted an overall GPA of 3.3 for the 2020 spring semester. During this time the program has seen student athletes move on to the Division 1 level in leagues such as the Big Sky and Horizon, Division 2, Division 3 and NAIA level.

Cellars came from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked under Jacie Hoyt in her inaugural season as a volunteer video coordinator. In his one year with the Roo’s, the team posted a 7-7 record during conference play which was the first .500-or-better record in seven seasons. The team led the conference in steals (9.2) and ranked second in scoring offense (67.8), assists (13.5) and 3PT field goals made per game (6.8). His daily duties with the program consisted of overseeing film exchange and edits for both practices and games. He also assisted the staff with scouting reports, daily operations, and oversaw the creation of images and videos for the team’s recruiting and social media.

From 2010-2017, Cellars was the assistant basketball coach at Milford High School in Milford, Ohio, where he worked under Joe Cambron. In the 2014-15 season he helped lead the Eagles to wins (22) and consecutive wins (18), along with Milford’s first OHSAA District Finals appearance in over 40 years. While at Milford he was a part of two conference championships, 2010-11 in the FAVC and 2014-15 in the ECC.

 A native of Milford, Ohio, Cellars earned a bachelor’s degree in Applied Administration from the University of Cincinnati in 2017.