Donald Copeland is officially out as the head basketball coach at Wagner. Copeland was suspended back in September and did not coach this season.
Interim coach Dwan McMillan has been named as the new head coach of the Seahawks. No official announcement yet by Wagner, but McMillian’s bio now says that he was named as the head coach on April 20th, 2026.
Copeland was suspended following a New York Post report, that alleged Copeland inappropriate language against his players in practice, and in one disturbing alleged incident cited by the Post, mandated his players would run to exhaustion after he found a hidden Gatorade bottle in the gym that one player was drinking from. “Two players passed out due to dehydration,” according to an email obtained by the Post, and one of those two players was brought to a local hospital.
McMillan spent the 2025-26 season as the interim head coach after a season as an assistant on the Seahawks’ staff.
During the 2025-26 season, McMillan guided the Seahawks to an NEC Tournament appearance, highlighted by a 70–60 road victory over Central Connecticut State in the quarterfinal round. The win marked the first time a No. 7 seed defeated a No. 2 seed in NEC Tournament history. McMillan also played a key role in the development of All-NEC Second Team guard Nick Jones.
Prior to returning to Wagner, McMillan spent two seasons at Fordham University (2022–24), where he served as video coordinator in his first year before being elevated to director of player development and recruiting coordinator in his second. During the 2022–23 campaign, he helped guide the Rams to one of the best seasons in program history, finishing 25–8 overall and tying for second in the Atlantic 10 standings with a 12–6 record — Fordham’s best-ever conference finish.
A Brooklyn native, McMillan began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Mercyhurst University (2012–14) before serving as a graduate manager at Wagner for the 2014–15 season. He also coached on the AAU circuit with New Heights.
As a player, McMillan competed at Hofstra University for two seasons after transferring from Indian Hills Community College in Iowa, graduating in 2012. In his first year in Hempstead, he helped the Pride to 21 wins, including a school-record 14 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) victories. Hofstra’s second-place CAA finish that season was the best in program history and propelled the team to the 2011 College Basketball Invitational (CBI). As a senior in 2011–12, McMillan ranked second in the CAA in assists and earned CAA All-Academic First Team honors.
