Avila men’s basketball assistant coach Alex Slawson has been elevated to Head Coach of the program after Tyler Bredehoeft has stepped down for other coaching opportunities.

“I want to thank Tyler for his work the past three years,” said Avila Chief Mission Integration Officer/Vice President of Athletics and Student Affairs Shawn Summe. “I’m excited that Avila University is naming Alex Slawson as our next head men’s basketball coach.”

Slawson enters the role after three years as the Eagles top assistant coach. The Paola, Kan., native also spent a season as an assistant coach at Rock Valley College, where he helped the Golden Eagles to a Region IV semifinal appearance.

“For the past three years, Alex has been a constant fixture in our athletic department and he has walked step-by-step with Tyler in turning our basketball program around,” said Summe. “His energy and daily desire to make our program, athletic department and Avila University better is evident and I know he will continue that direction in his new role.”

“First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Jett and Shawn Summe for such an amazing opportunity that I get to continue here at Avila University,” said Slawson. “I am excited to be at Avila and can’t wait to help it continue to grow and compete. I am excited to have the guys who are here now who know what it takes to win in this league. I can’t wait to also help the guys that we have coming in with this recruiting class hit the ground running. Go Eagles!”

Entering the role with plenty of KCAC experience, Slawson spent time at Ottawa University, including a year as a graduate assistant for the Braves, one season as an assistant coach and two seasons as a student assistant. With Ottawa, Slawson was also the head junior varsity coach.

At all three of his assistant coaching stops, Slawson has played a big role in the academic portion of his teams’ successes. At Avila, Slawson spent the 2025-26 academic year as Avila’s head athletics admissions representative in addition to his coaching duties. During his time at Rock Valley and Ottawa, Slawson also played an instrumental role in the academic success of his student-athletes.

Building and fostering relationships with student-athletes is a huge part of Slawson’s pedigree. Over the last two years, Slawson has helped the program to a 91 percent student-athlete retention rate.

A 2020 graduate of Ottawa, Slawson received his Master’s degree in Leadership from Ottawa in 2022.

https://www.avilaathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2025-26/releases/260429-slawson-bredehoeft-hc