MT. VERNON — The Mt. Vernon Township High School Board of Education unanimously approved three head coaching hires Thursday night, naming new leaders for its boys basketball, girls basketball and volleyball programs.

The board approved Lukas “Luke” Cooper as boys basketball coach, Travis Pinkston as girls basketball coach and Ashley Mast as volleyball coach.

Cooper, 25, takes over the Rams program following four seasons as head coach at Woodlawn, where he compiled a 70-57 record. He previously served two seasons as an assistant under coach Dawson Verhines.

A former Rams athlete, Cooper becomes the latest alumnus to lead the program, joining a recent list that includes Doug Creel, Scott Gamber and Tim Holloway. Cooper has not yet been hired into a teaching position with the district.

He replaces Holloway, who led Mt. Vernon to a 118-52 record over six seasons. Holloway guided the Rams to three regional championships and a sectional final appearance during his tenure.

The board also named Pinkston as the fourth head coach in Lady Rams history, replacing Jeff Lonnon, who retired after 17 seasons.

Lonnon compiled a 257-219 record at Mt. Vernon with five regional championships and one sectional title, finishing his career with 424 wins.

Pinkston brings a mix of local and high school experience to the role. He most recently served as the junior varsity girls coach under Lonnon during the 2025-26 season after coaching freshman boys under Holloway the previous two years.

Before joining the Mt. Vernon staff, Pinkston led Casey Middle School’s boys program, guiding the Jr. Rams to two Southern Illinois Junior High School Athletic Association Class L championships. He also previously served as head girls coach at Webber Township High School from 2008 to 2012 and currently works as an assistant softball coach at Mt. Vernon.

In volleyball, the board hired Mast to replace Madison Crews. Crews served as head coach during the 2025-26 season and shared co-head coaching duties with Sara Crews in 2024-25.

Mast previously coached volleyball at Summersville Grade School and will work alongside assistant Annie Wehrheim, who remains on staff. Wehrheim, a Woodlawn native, played collegiately at Southeast Missouri State University after a standout high school career that included 1,220 kills, a fourth-place in the 2014 IHSA Class 1A State Finals and multiple individual honors.