Bryant men’s basketball head coach Phil Martelli Jr. announced the promotion of Chris Cole to Associate Head Coach on Wednesday afternoon.

Cole came to Smithfield in April of 2018 and has served as an assistant coach at Bryant for the last six seasons. The Alexandria, Va., native has helped the Bulldogs become one of the top mid-majors in the country during his time on the sidelines.

“This is a very well-deserved recognition for Chris,” Martelli Jr. said. “Much of our success in player development and recruiting over the last six years is directly related to his efforts. He genuinely cares about people and is a great mentor to our student-athletes and younger staff members.”

A tireless recruiter, Cole has been instrumental in helping the Black and Gold build a championship roster through transfer portal recruiting as well as high school recruiting. Cole has also been integral in developing Bryant’s players while on campus.

Cole’s ability to develop players is showcased by the marked improvements of Peter Kiss, Charles Pride, Earl Timberlake, Rafael Pinzon, Connor Withers and Sherif Gross-Bullock. Kiss averaged nearly nine points more per game in his second season at Bryant, while Pride saw his average jump from 8.2 as a freshman to 17.7 as a junior. Timberlake, Pinzon, Withers and Gross-Bullock all enjoyed career years for the Bulldogs in 2023-24. Timberlake put together one of the best all-around seasons in program history, while Gross-Bullock has led the Black and Gold in scoring each of the last two seasons.   

https://www.bryantbulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/releases/20240528x7f77t