Maryland native Brenden Straughn has joined the Loyola University Maryland men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach, the Greyhounds’ new head coach, Tavaras Hardy, announced today.
Straughn, who played collegiately at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, has coached at the high school and AAU level in the Washington, D.C., area for the past five years.
A native of New Carrollton, Maryland, Straughn has served as an assistant coach for one of the area’s top AAU programs, Team Takeover, since 2013 and has been the program’s associate head coach since 2016.
“I’m incredibly excited to welcome Brenden to the Greyhounds basketball family,” Hardy said. “Brenden is coming from one of the premier youth basketball programs in the country, where winning while developing young men on and off the court is emphasized. He has built tremendous relationships in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia that are vital for our recruiting success. Having played at a liberal arts school, Brenden values the holistic approach to education and is excited to get out and share the Loyola story.”
With Team Takeover, Straughn won the 2017 Jordan Brand 8 Invitational as a head coach and led teams to the Peach Jam finals in 2017 and the semifinals in 2015. He has coached over 70 NCAA Division I players for Team Takeover, including two who have earned McDonald’s All-America honors, V.J. King (2016, now a sophomore at Louisville) and Jalen Smith (2018, freshman-to-be at Maryland).
Straughn led the on-court coaching and player development efforts for Team Takeover, while helping with installing offensive sets, recruiting and evaluating players for the program. He also assisted with the planning and implementation of some of the nation’s premier youth basketball events, the National High School Hoops Festival, the Victor Oladipo Skills Academy and the D.C. Metro Challenge.
“With Coach Hardy’s leadership, we will develop student-athletes on and off the court while competing for Patriot League Championships,” Straughn said. “I am extremely blessed and excited to join the Loyola community and its basketball program; the possibilities here at Loyola are limitless, and I am ready to get to work.”
At the high school level, Straughn has been an assistant coach at his alma mater, Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. Since he has assisted at the school, the Raiders have compiled a 123-25 record, won the 2013 and 2016 Maryland 4A State Championships and the 2013, 2015 and 2016 Prince George’s County titles.
Straughn was a four-year starter as a collegiate player at Hood, serving as a team captain his final three seasons (2009-12). At the time of his graduation, Straughn was in the Blazers’ career top-10 in scoring and second in both assists and steals. Over four seasons, Straughn averaged 8.7 points, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
He graduated with a bachelor of arts in business management with minors in accounting and finance in 2012, and while at Hood, he was a member of the Athletic Peer Mentor Group, SPURS and the college’s Black Student Union. Following graduation, Straughn worked in both the accounting and data processing fields.
http://www.loyolagreyhounds.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/060518aaa.html
