This past offseason, the Penn State men’s basketball program saw two of their assistant coaches take positions at other schools.
Associate Head Coach, Jamal Brunt, departed for Syracuse for an assistant position under Gerry McNamara and Assistant Coach Joe Crispin accepted the head role at the Air Force Academy.
Today, it was announced the Nittany Lions have filled one of those vacated positions with the hiring of Dwayne Stephens.
Stephens comes to State College after spending the last four seasons as the head coach at Western Michigan (2022-2026). He has nearly 30 years of college coaching experience, including 19 years of Big Ten experience.
Prior to Western Michigan, Stephens served on Hall of Famer Tom Izzo’s coaching staff at Michigan State for 19 seasons (2003-2022).
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Known as one of the nation’s top recruiters and player development coaches, Stephens played a key role in the development of numerous NBA players such as Draymond Green, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges.
Stephens has helped guide his teams to 20 NCAA Tournament appearances and six trips to the Final Four throughout his 29-year coaching career.
Prior to Michigan State, Coach Stephens spent four years (2000-2003) at Marquette and two at Oakland (1997-1999).
“I can’t wait to get to State College and help Coach Rhoades continue to build Penn State basketball,” said Stephens. “I love what he and his staff are doing. It’s a unique time in college athletics and to have the opportunity to join a group that’s doing it the right way is such a privilege. The only person more excited about this opportunity than I am is my brother Jarrett, a PSU basketball alum (Jarrett Stephens ’00). We Are!”
