Western Michigan University and head men’s basketball coach Dwayne Stephens have announced the addition of Thomas Kithier to the program as an assistant coach for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
“Thomas brings great experience to our program,” Coach Stephens said. “Spending time in the NBA, he is an innovative thinker who knows the game extremely well. Coaching him while at Michigan State, I know the type of individual Thomas is and he will undoubtedly help our guys grow both on and off the court. We are excited for Thomas to be joining our staff.”
Kithier arrives in Kalamazoo after spending the last two years as an assistant video coordinator/player development with the NBA’s Utah Jazz. With the Jazz, Kithier worked with numerous players, including Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Collin Sexton, Walker Kessler and Kelly Olynyk. Along with player development, his other duties consisted of scouting reports, analytical projects and pre-draft workouts. During the 2023 and 2024 NBA Summer League, he spent time as an assistant coach for the organization.
He began his coaching career at Valparaiso, where he was a graduate assistant for one season after wrapping up his playing career with the Beacons in 2021-22.
“I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to join Coach Stephens’ staff,” Kithier said. “I’ve watched the program from afar for the past three years and am ready to keep building on the foundation that has been built. During my time at Michigan State, I learned many life and basketball lessons from DJ and have the utmost respect for him. I can’t wait to get to Kalamazoo and join the staff.”
An All-State performer in high school, Kithier began his collegiate career at Michigan State, where he played under Coach Stephens for three seasons. Over the course of his time at MSU, Kithier played in a total of 86 games and made 19 starts. While he was in East Lansing, the Spartans won a pair of Big Ten regular season titles, a Big Ten Tournament title and reached the 2019 Final Four.
For his final collegiate season, Kithier transferred to Valparaiso, where he started 22 games, averaging 10.1 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds while shooting a team-best 56.5 percent from the field. His 6.6 rebounds ranked fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference, and at the end of the campaign he was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team.
A native of Macomb, Mich., Kithier graduated from Michigan State University in three years with a bachelor’s degree in Advertising, and received a master’s degree in Sports Administration/Media from Valparaiso University.
https://wmubroncos.com/news/2025/5/20/thomas-kithier-joins-mens-basketball-staff.aspx
