Jean-Pierre (JP) Lucas, a nine-time All-American and member of the five-time reigning NCAA Rifle Champions, West Virginia University, joined the Ole Miss rifle program as an assistant coach in 2017.

He has been named the GARC Assistant Coach of the Year three times in his first four seasons in Oxford. Lucas was also named Nation Assistant Coach of the Year by the College Rifle Coaches Association after helping take the program to new heights in 2021.

Lucas has coached five of the Rebels’ 10 All-Americans in his four years with the program and has guided nine athletes to multiple GARC Honors.

After much uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Lucas helped the Rebels completely rewrite the record books in 2020-21. Ole Miss qualified for the NCAA Rifle Championship in 15 years, earning the No. 2 seed, and went on to place third overall, their highest finish in school history. Freshman Lea Horvath also earned a pair of third place finishes in smallbore and air rifle. The Rebels opened the season with a bang, firing an NCAA record smallbore score of 2361 and the top score in program history by over 40 points on October 10. In doing so, Ole Miss received its first No. 1 ranking in the CRCA poll in school history. In January, the Rebels topped defending GARC Champions, No. 2 Kentucky, at home 4727-4713. After posting an 11-1 record, Ole Miss also earned a share of the GARC regular-season title along with Kentucky and West Virginia, marking the most conference wins for the Rebels in school history (seven) and their first conference championship. 

Lucas led a program-record four Rebels to a combined nine All-American honors from the CRCA. Horvath was a unanimous first team All-American and garnered Rookie of the Year honors after she first the first perfect air rifle score in Ole Miss history and the 12th ever in NCAA history. After the historic season for the Rebels, Lucas was named National Assistant Coach of the Year by the CRCA and GARC Assistant Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.

During the 2019-20 season, Ole Miss turned in seven of the top 10 aggregate scores in program history, including a program-record air rifle mark of 2372, outshooting her former team, the Mountaineers, in the event on Nov. 2, 2019. The Rebels made noise, climbing as high as No. 5 in the CRCA Poll for four weeks and spent the entire season inside the top 10. Overall, Ole Miss finished the season with a 5-6 record and a sixth-place finish in the Great America Rifle Conference.

With Lucas’ assistance, junior Abby Buesseler had one of the best seasons of her career, becoming the sixth All-American in program history. Buesseler earned a trio of All-American nods, including NRA Smallbore First Team honors. She also qualified as an individual for the canceled 2020 NCAA Rifle Championships in smallbore.

The Rebels finished the 2018-19 season with six wins, two GARC Honorable Mention performers in Jillian Zakrzeski and Hayley Carrol, and a fourth-place regular-season finish in conference. Ole Miss spent three weeks at No. 7 in the CRCA rankings after firing the second-highest score in program history on Jan. 13 with a 4685. Additionally, a record 94 fans packed the Ole Miss rifle range in the Rebels’ 4665-4651 regular-season finale victory against Nebraska on Feb. 2.

Lucas arrived in Oxford for his first season in 2017 and made an immediate impact. The Rebels earned their best overall finish in GARC action, third overall and won a program-record seven matches. He also played a pivotal role in helping freshman Kamilla Kisch qualify for the NCAA Championship, earning an at-large bid in air rifle. With all the success on the range, three Rebels received All-GARC Honorable Mention honors and Lucas was named the conference’s Assistant Coach of the Year. 

Prior to Ole Miss, Lucas, a native of Speers, Pennsylvania, held the honor of being the first tryout freshman to earn a spot on the WVU rifle team under Coach Jon Hammond. In 2014, as a redshirt freshman, Lucas competed in the Great America Rifle Conference Championships placing third in smallbore (587) with a final score of (441).  

As team captain for both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, Lucas led the Mountaineers to two NCAA Championship titles. During his collegiate career, he earned All-American honors nine times, including NRA First Team Smallbore and CRCA Second Team his senior year. Other accomplishments include finishing in third in smallbore (583), and fifth in air rifle (593) at the 2016 GARC Championships.

“I am very happy to have JP Lucas become part of the Ole Miss rifle program,” head coach Marsha Beasley said upon Lucas’ hiring. “JP was an exceptionally hard worker in college and was successful at the highest level of NCAA competition. As a five-year member of the team that won NCAAs each of those years, he has an excellent understanding of what it takes to win. He was a two-year captain, which is significant. He comes highly recommended by his coach, Jon Hammond, who credits JP’s leadership and continual management of small problems as key factors in the WVU Rifle Team’s success. 

I know JP will bring the same energy, commitment and focus to his work at Ole Miss. Over the last three years, I had the chance to observe JP when he coached various camps at WVU. He is very knowledgeable and is able to communicate the technical aspects of rifle very well. He is passionate about shooting, but at the same time, his leadership style is easy-going and positive. He will be a huge asset for us and I look forward to working with him.”  

Lucas has been successful in open competition as well. He placed 2nd in the Men’s 50-meter 3 position final at the 2016 National Championships.  

Lucas has represented team USA in multiple World Cups and international matches such as the 2014 Bavarian Air Rifle Championship in Munich, Germany and the 2015 ISSF World Cup in Seoul, Korea.

“One thing that I always pride myself on is my work ethic. I will do whatever it takes to put my team first and work with Marsha and the Ole Miss staff to create the best team we can,” Lucas said. 

“I was lucky enough to be a walk on to the West Virginia University team. At that time, I was just trying to make the team and everyone on the team pushed me to not only try to become one of the best shooters on the team, but to become one of the best shooters in the country. I think that’s something I can take and apply it to any aspect of life, not only in coaching, but in all life aspects. It’s not all just about trophies and materialistic things, but what it takes to get there. It’s the hard work that pays off and hard work is what really separates the good shooters from the best shooters. It’s about how bad you want it and what you’re willing to commit to.”

Lucas graduated an Academic All-Big 12 and CRCA All-Academic student from WVU in May of 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineering. When he’s not at the range, Lucas enjoys outdoor activities such as fishing and hunting.