Jett Snowden doesn’t have any grand illusions for his first head coaching job.

At least not for its beginning.

However, his foundation wasn’t built on illusions, but rather hard work and toughness.

Snowden was approved last week as the new head boys basketball coach at Lomega High School. The board also approved the hire of his wife, Mattie, as a second grade teacher.

Snowden will succeed Justin Edsall, who coached his alma mater for 10 years, but resigned those duties at the end of the 2025-26 season.

Edsall will remain as a teacher and the track and cross country coach.

His team was 18-11 in his last season and advanced to the area tournament.

“We’re excited to welcome Jett Snowden as our new boys basketball coach,” said Superintendent Cory Wilson, who recommended Snowden for the job after a series of candidate interviews. “As the son of a coach, Jett has a deep understanding of the game and how it should be played.

“He was a successful player in his own right and has gained valuable experience working under outstanding coaches who have achieved high levels of success.”

Those coaches he’s worked under include his father Tyler Snowden as well as Weatherford’s Derrick Bull.

After graduating from Calumet in 2019 (the Chieftains were Class B state runners- up his senior season), Snowden attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University and earned his bachelor’s degree in history education in May 2023.

It was during that time Snowden got his first exposure to Bull and the Eagles’ program at Weatherford.

Snowden was a student- teacher at Weatherford during his last semester of college and assisted with the freshman, junior varsity and varsity basketball teams.

Weatherford was the Class 4A state runner-up that season.

After earning his degree, Snowden joined his father at Sentinel.

The elder Snowden has seen success at multiple stops during his career, including guiding the Calumet girls basketball program to its only state title in 2011.

During their season together there, Sentinel advanced to the 2024 Class A state semifinals before being defeated by eventual state champ Okarche.

Snowden returned to Weatherford and assisted Bull in 2024-25 as the Eagles - after two straight runner-up finishes - claimed the Class 4A state championship.

Tyler Snowden landed the boys basketball position at Merritt prior to this season. Jett joined his staff and was also an assistant football and is the head baseball coach.

Snowden said he’s learned from his time with both his father and Bull.

“The best thing I have learned from my dad is that athletics is about your mindset,” he said. “The mindset of being able to outwork anyone in the room.

“I’ve also learned that accountability will make or break your team.”

From his time at Weatherford, Snowden said he picked up some X’s and O’s ideas - especially offensively in regards to attacking weak defenders.

“Another thing I learned from him is how to continue striving for success and not being complacent after finding success in the biggest moments,” Snowden said.

Now Snowden brings that knowledge with him to Lomega.

He’ll also bring with him a certain expectation.

“The Lomega boys can expect to work,” he said. “I have always been a believer that the toughest and grittiest teams find a way to win.”

He said he wants the Raiders to enter the gym ready to learn and exert 100 percent.

“If they do that, I believe that we will put ourselves in a position to succeed and win,” he said.

But Snowden also isn’t naive and is fully aware of the very first portion of Lomega’s schedule.

Of the Raiders’ first four games, one is against defending Class B-II state champion Dover, another is against three-time defending Class A champ Okarche and the other is against his alma mater, which has won the last two Class B state titles.

And that fourth game isn’t easy. Drummond reached the Class A state tournament in both 2023 and 2024 and was one win away from getting back there this season.

“I think there will be a little bit of a learning curve in the beginning,” Snowden said. “But that will give us a good starting point of where we can go.”

He also knows program building is a marathon and not a sprint.

“I plan on taking it a year at a time,” he said. “I’ve learned that each year, the team is different and has different strengths and weaknesses.

“However, I believe that building a strong foundation will give the younger groups something to look up to and compete against for years to come.”

That, according to Wilson, was a strong selling point during the interview process.

“What stood out most to us is his desire to invest in our younger athletes and build a strong program from the ground up,” Wilson said. “That is exactly what we were looking for.”