Justin Jones was promoted to Head Coach of the Northeastern men’s rowing team following the 2021 season, and completed his first year in 2021-22.
In his season as Head Coach, the Huskies had a strong year, highlighted by a first varsity upset over Stanford at the Pac-12 Challenge, a sweep over Penn (Burk Cup), and wins over BU (Arlett Cup) and Wisconsin (Congram Cup). Northeastern was ranked at 8th and 9th throughout the season, and competed in dual races against teams ranked in the top 15. The first varsity boat had a stellar year, capped off by an open water victory over Wisconsin in the petite final at Eastern Sprints, and a strong second-place finish behind Dartmouth in the petite final at IRA’s, crossing the line ahead of Princeton with a time of 5:52.257, finishing eighth overall.
As the Interim Head Coach from February through June, he led the team to a program-high fourth place team finish at the IRA National Championships and a 14-2 record between all crews through the regular season, including sweeps of the University of Wisconsin, Brown University and Boston University. Jones also hosted the United States Under-23 Selection Camp at Northeastern’s Henderson Boathouse in the summer of ‘21 and helped lead the US team to a silver medal in the Men’s 8+ and a bronze medal in the Men’s 4+ at the U23 World Championships.
Jones served the previous year and a half as Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, and was the assistant coach for the four years prior. A four-year letterwinner at Northeastern from 2011 to 2014, Jones captained the Huskies for two seasons before joining the coaching ranks at his alma mater.
As a student-athlete at Northeastern, Jones stroked the varsity eight to a fourth place finish at the IRA National Championships as well as a second place finish and record setting performance in the Henley Ladies’ Plate final at the 164th Henley Royal Regatta. At Henley, the race proved a remarkable one, if bittersweet, for the Huskies. The Northeastern eight cruised past Fawley — the three-quarter mile mark — in 2:55, a time that set a new event record. The Huskies' overall race time bested the nearly-two-decades-old Ladies' Plate record by nearly four seconds.
During his time at Henderson Boathouse, Jones medaled twice at the Eastern Sprints, stroking the Freshman 8+ and then the Varsity 8+ to bronze medal finishes.
Jones also brings international experience to his new post at Northeastern. He pursued the U.S. National Team for a year after graduation from Northeastern. He was a two-time U.S. Rowing Under-23 National Team member, helping the Americans earn a bronze medal in the 8+ in 2014, topping a fourth place performance with the 4- in 2012. Jones was also a Junior National Team Member and a Junior World Champion in the 8+ in 2010.
