Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey has announced the hiring of assistant coach Antoni Wyche, former Notre Dame team captain and 12-year Division I coaching veteran, for the 2021-22 season.
“Antoni is part of the Notre Dame family and I am excited to be able to bring him back to campus,” Brey said.
“He has a proven track record of identifying and developing talent. There’s a toughness about him, a grinding work ethic and pride to be back working at his alma mater.”
Wyche most recently was an assistant coach at Siena, serving as the recruiting and defensive coordinator for the Saints. He helped guide the team to the 2020 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title in 2019-20, earning what would have been an NCAA tournament berth before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
His two year stint with Siena was preceded by 10 outstanding seasons at Lehigh, helping the Mountain Hawks amass 189 wins, 102 Patriot League victories and two NCAA tournament appearances.
“I am extremely excited and grateful for this opportunity to return home and can’t wait to join the staff and team on campus,” Wyche said.
“Notre Dame is a special place as I was fortunate enough to have met my wife here and I genuinely feel my experiences both on and off the court really helped mold the player and coach I became after graduation. The opportunity to work with this staff and team as we build back to the goal of postseason success is something I take with pride and look forward to attacking daily.”
Wyche helped recruit and develop high level talent throughout his career, including 2013 NBA Top-10 Draft Pick C.J. McCollum. McCollum was the driving force behind Lehigh’s legendary upset of second-seeded Duke in the 2012 NCAA tournament, with Wyche helping the Mountain Hawks become just the sixth No. 15 seed to earn a first-round victory in the history of the event.
Wyche also helped guide Lehigh to a 2013 College Basketball Invitational appearance and consecutive Patriot League Championship Game berths in 2016 and 2017.
“I’m really happy for Coach Wyche. He’s a good guy who works hard, does things the right way and deserves to be coaching at the highest level. Quite frankly, he will be a great head coach one day but I’m glad he is heading home to his alma mater. He will be a huge value addition for the University.” – Portland Trailblazers guard C.J. McCollum, played for Wyche at Lehigh from 2009-12
Wyche also has worked with several other top student-athletes throughout his career, including two-time Patriot League Player of the Year Tim Kempton and the first four-time All-Patriot League honoree in program history in Kahron Ross. At Siena, Wyche helped develop back-to-back MAAC Players of the Year in Jalen Pickett and Manny Camper.
A four-year letterwinner for former Irish head coach John MacLeod from 1995-99, Wyche appeared in 108 games with 64 starts while scoring 825 points, grabbing 222 rebounds and dishing out 193 assists. He served as team captain as a senior (1998-99) when he averaged 11.3 points and 2.5 rebounds while starting all 30 games.
