Coach Jonathan "JJ" Merritt enters his second season as head coach of the Chargers. He graduated from Shorter University in 1998. JJ was a part of the Shorter University’s basketball team from 1994-1998 and was an All-Freshman Team member, 3-time All-Conference selection, and 3-time NAIA All-American. In 2009, he was inducted into the Shorter University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Coach Merritt in 2009 Co-founded Action Sports Academy, a post-graduate school in Atlanta, GA. In 3 years Action Sports Academy compiled an 86-27 record and 23 out of 28 students moved on to get scholarships to D1, D2, NAIA, and JUCO institutions.

In 2013, Coach Merritt join the coaching staff at Georgia Highlands College. In his first year with GHC, he helped increase the win total by 16 games and 14 games in the second year.  In his time as an assistant with GHC, they have gone to 2 NJCAA National final 4’s and a Sweet 16. In addition to the on the court success, he has assisted in 18 players graduating and moving on to Division 1 programs and several others to D2 and NAIA institutions. During his time at GHC, he has recruited and coached 6 NJCAA All-Americans, 14 GCAA All-Conference selections, and 2 GCAA Players of the Year. In his 6 years as an assistant, GHC has an overall record of 155-47. In his first season as head coach, he finished with a 24-8 record.

Coach Merritt holds a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management from Shorter University and a Master of Arts in Athletic Administration from Concordia University Irvine.