Chris Oney is entering his eighth full season as head men's basketball coach after taking over the position for the 2016-17 season.

The Wildcats have experienced tremendous success during Oney's tenure as head coach. Oney has led The River to a MACJC Tournament title in 2018 and a Region XXIII Tournament title in 2019 along with the program's first berth in the NJCAA Tournament in 2019. The 2018-19 success saw Oney earn MACJC and Region XXIII Coach of the Year honors.

The Wildcats made more history in 2020, ripping off a 28-0 record and becoming the first Mississippi school to not only enter the NJCAA Tournament undefeated but also earn a No. 1 seeding in the national competition. Unfortunately for Oney and the Wildcats, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced the cancellation of the NJCAA Tournament. Despite the abrupt ending, Oney was named the NJCAA Coach of the Year in addition to MACJC, Region XXIII and Gulf District Coach of the Year.

Pearl River continued to perform during the 2020-21 season, finishing the year with a 12-2 record and a Co-MACCC Championship. 

The Wildcats rattled off another incredible run during the 2021-22 season. Although they lost two non-conference games, PRCC rattled off a perfect 14-0 mark in MACCC competition to win the regular-season Championship. Pearl River then entered the Region 23 Tournament where they continued to dominate, winning the title for the third time in four seasons. The Wildcats finished the year with a 24-4 record.

In 2022-23 Pearl River advanced to the second round fo the Region 23 Tournament for a sixth consecutive season, finishing the year with an 18-8 record.

Heading into the 2023-24 season, Oney boasts an incredible 145-32 record with an .819 winning percentage.

Oney spent four seasons at Pearl River as an assistant coach, coming to PRCC after two years at Grambling State.

He is a 1994 graduate of McCall High School in Tallulah, Louisiana, where he was district MVP for four seasons. He spent a year at Texas A&M before transferring to Ole Miss, where he played from 1995 through 1998. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Ole Miss in 1998 and a masters in education from Louisiana College in 2008.

Oney began his coaching career at Nicholls State, where he spent one season. He spent four seasons as an assistant at Louisiana-Monroe before getting his first head coaching job at Carroll High in Monroe, Louisiana. In his two seasons there, his teams were 60-15. 

He moved on to a two-year stint as head coach at Grambling Lab High School, where his teams were 43-12, before taking on a position as an assistant at Grambling State.

Oney and his wife, Christen, have two children, Camryn and Caleb.