After four years as an assistant at IU Southeast, DeJuan Wheat is returning home to take over as head coach at Simmons College. The Louisville native and former U of L standout steps into the role previously held by Tony Branch, another Cardinal great. Wheat began his college coaching career under Wiley Brown at IU Southeast, helping guide the Grenadiers to a 65-58 record over four seasons. Now, he takes the reins of a Simmons program coming off a 6-22 campaign in 2024-25.

Wheat’s basketball roots run deep in Louisville. A Ballard High grad, he starred at U of L from 1993–97, finishing with 2,183 points and becoming the first NCAA player to tally 2,000 points, 450 assists, 300 threes, and 200 steals. He had stints in the NBA with Minnesota and Vancouver, then spent five more seasons playing in Mexico before retiring in 2010. After returning to Louisville, he launched a training program and coached at Valley High before jumping into the college ranks with IU Southeast.