Branden McDonald, formerly an assistant coach at Northern Illinois, Towson, Manhattan, and Pittsburgh, is the newest member of the Bucknell men’s basketball coaching staff, head coach Nathan Davis announced.
“I am excited to welcome Branden to the program and the Bison basketball family,” said Davis. “Branden brings tremendous experience from quality programs in all aspects of basketball coaching, from recruiting to player development to game coaching. He comes to Bucknell with new and fresh perspectives, and I know he is excited to get started working with our team.”
McDonald spent the 2021-22 season at Northern Illinois after a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Towson under head coach Pat Skerry. McDonald helped the Tigers to an 18-win season in 2017-18 and a 19-win season in 2019-20. The 2019-20 squad finished third in the Colonial Athletic Conference with a 12-6 record, and the squad placed a league-high five players on the All-CAA Team. The 2017-18 team jumped out to a 10-1 start, Towson’s best as a Division I program, and was ranked as high as fourth in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major poll while also receiving votes in the Associated Press poll.
Prior to his tenure at Towson, McDonald worked under head coach Steve Masiello for two seasons at Manhattan. McDonald broke into the collegiate coaching ranks as a graduate assistant coach at Pitt from 2013-15. In his first season, the Panthers won 26 games, the last of which was an NCAA Tournament first-round contest against Colorado. Pitt won 19 games and played in the NIT in 2014-15.
A native of Glen Arden, Md., McDonald played collegiately at Virginia Union and graduated in 2011 with a degree in psychology. After graduation, he worked as an assistant coach with the Team Takeover AAU program and then at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, where he helped the team win the 2012-13 Maryland state championship.
McDonald comes to Lewisburg with his wife, Ashley, and two young children, Aria (5) and Bryce (2).
Branden McDonald added to Bucknell Basketball Staff
