Bryan Mathews has been hired as Keuka College’s new assistant coach for men’s basketball, and he will also lead the College’s men’s and women’s golf teams, athletic director Dave Sweet announced Tuesday.
Mathews will assist head coach Thad Phillips with the day-to-day operations of the men’s basketball team, including assisting with recruiting. Mathews will also direct the College’s golf program.
Mathews previously served as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Oswego State, Elmira College and Keystone College.
"It’s refreshing and rejuvenating to see the changes that are going on here on campus," said Mathews, a four-year member of the basketball team at Elmira who was a three-year starter and three-year captain.
"I wanted to work at Keuka College because it has a great atmosphere for developing student-athletes, and I really enjoy the environment on campus. There’s a lot of energy and enthusiasm on campus, and there’s potential here for growth. I’m excited to see what kind of high-quality student-athletes we can recruit."
Mathews served one season at Oswego as assistant coach as the Lakers earned a spot in the NCAA Division III tournament. He was the primary recruiting coordinator at Oswego and also served as the director of player development, and strength and conditioning.
At Elmira, Mathews was an assistant coach for two years, handling the recruiting coordinator duties while devising player development, strength and conditioning and workout programs for the student-athletes.
"We are pleased to have someone of Bryan’s experience and character join our basketball family and program," Phillips said. "In the entire process, Bryan stood out above a field of very qualified candidates. His experience at multiple Division III schools similar to Keuka College and his success at those schools will only add to our program. His character and hard work will be a great example to our student-athletes."
Mathews, who played basketball for Elmira College, was a four-year member of the team, spending three seasons as captain and a starter.
Mathews received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration: Management from Elmira College in 2010, and his Master’s degree in General Management in 2013.
When he graduated from Elmira, coaching was a natural next step for Mathews, who grew up around basketball. His father, Ron Mathews, spent nearly two decades leading the Odessa-Montour High School boys basketball team.
"I’ve played basketball my whole life, it has always been my passion, and I definitely got the coaching bug from my dad," said Mathews, who credited his high school coach (Jeff Limoncelli) and his coach at Elmira (Randy Torgalski) as some of the other key influences in his career.
"Coach Phillips is very passionate about teaching these student-athletes. He knows they’re here to get their degrees while still being competitive and giving it 100 percent every day on the court. I operate the same way and I’m excited to get out there and start helping this team."
Mathews, who played golf for Horseheads High School, is a frequent golfer who is also looking forward to working with the College’s golf program.
"We have a lot of talented student-athletes on campus, and there are a bunch of good recruits coming to campus for golf," Mathews said. "They’re excited to get the season started, and I am excited to start working with them so we can accomplish our goals."
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