Tony Blake has been hired as the new assistant men’s basketball coach, Mars Hill Head Basketball Coach Thomas Nash announced today. Blake replaces Trip Cogburn.

Head men's basketball coach Thomas Nash stated, "Tony Blake has a tremendous drive toward excellence.  He has demonstrated this on the court as a player, in the classroom earning a graduate degree and in the community at large.  Coach Blake is a welcomed addition back on the sidelines of the Mars Hill Lions.  This time as a coach." 
 
Blake, a 2009 graduate of Mars Hill and local product of Pisgah High School, played four seasons in a Lions’ uniform.  As a point guard, he played in 107 games and started 72 of them.  Blake scored 507 points and recorded 316 assists.  He was recognized as the South Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete for men’s basketball during the 2008-09 season. 
 
Blake earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a graduate degree in Accounting in 2010 from the University of North Carolina.