Collierville basketball hires former Tennessee State assistant Erik Buggs as coach

Collierville High School has hired Memphis native and former Tennessee State assistant Erik Buggs as its next boys basketball coach, the school announced in a release shared with The Commercial Appeal on May 15. Buggs replaces Jarvis Stephen, who was hired in 2024 and was 21-37 across his two seasons at the school, including a 12-18 record during the 2026 season. “Coach Buggs brings tremendous passion for student-athletes, a strong commitment to excellence, and the leadership qualities that align with the proud tradition of Collierville High School,” said CHS Principal Roger Jones in the statement.

“I am confident he will make a lasting impact on our players, our school, and our community, and we look forward with great excitement to the future of Collierville basketball under his leadership. ” Buggs, a former All-State player at Mitchell High, brings coaching experience at the AAU, high school and collegiate levels, where he most recently served as an assistant at Tennessee State in 2024-25, and later as TSU's interim head coach after Brian Collins' departure. Before TSU, he spent three seasons as an assistant at Tennessee Martin, helping lead the Skyhawks to an Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship in 2023-24.

During his college playing career, Buggs contributed to two Horizon League championships at Valparaiso, where he is still the program's all-time leader in games played. He later played overseas from 2013-16 before launching his coaching career in Memphis, where he was previously head coach at Memphis Catholic and Kingsbury. Buggs has experience coaching 4A basketball in Memphis.

In 2020-21, he served as associate head coach under Mike Miller at Houston when the Mustangs won the TSSAA Class 4A state championship. Wendell Shepherd Jr. is The Commercial Appeal's high school sports beat writer.