Fairbanks’ Jett McCullough stays home to hoop for UAF and his former head coach

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Jett McCullough is continuing his basketball career right where it started as he signed to play college ball at his hometown University of Alaska Fairbanks in front of a library full of friends and family at Monroe Catholic High School.

The Fairbanks-raised hooper was an uncommon four-year starter for Monroe and was a 2024-25 Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches 1st-Team All-State member.

“It was a tough decision, but the biggest decision was I have a lot of family here, I played for Coach [Frank Ostanik], and I had that relationship with him already built, and I just wanted to continue that relationship with him and stay home,” McCullough said.

McCullough teams up with Frank Ostanik once again, who coached McCullough for three seasons at Monroe before becoming the UAF Nanooks head coach last summer.

”He is a very skilled young man, he obviously shoots the ball well, but I think his feel is underrated,” Ostanik said of McCullough. “He has a very good ability to pass the ball, defensively, he has great instincts. Basketball IQ and ‘feel,’ are something that we put a great premium on ... they’re hard to find.”

Jett’s brother Jalon was a former Monroe Catholic star who also played at UAF from 2017-2020 and is currently the UAA Women’s Basketball assistant coach.

”It means a lot, I have a lot of people who support me here, a lot of family, it means a lot to me and I think it means a lot to them that I wanted to stay home,” Jett said of representing Fairbanks.

”What is really interesting with young people today is they don’t generally value legacy as much as people who are of my age, I think Jett is one of those young men that does,” Ostanik added. “He has a legacy that he left here, and I am excited to see the legacy he leaves at the University of Alaska.”

McCullough will redshirt his freshman season and plans to study engineering at UAF. He joins other Alaskans of the Class of 2025 to sign to UAF, including Nome’s Finn Gregg and Ketchikan’s Marcus Stockhousen.

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