North Alabama head coach Tony Pujol announced his men’s basketball staff for the 2025-26 season on Wednesday, including the promotion of current assistant Sean Foley, the return of Eric Wagenlander and the new addition of Andrew Steele, who played for Pujol as a standout guard for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
In addition, Ahmad Smith will enter his eighth season on staff and his third as the Associate Head Coach. Jalen Patton and Jacob Rister also remain in their support roles.
“I am extremely excited about the staff that has been assembled for the 25-26 campaign,” said Pujol. “It is a group of leaders that understand the core values of our organization, and, with their talents and experiences, provide so much value to our players.”
SEAN FOLEY – ASSISTANT COACH
Sean Foley enters his fourth season as a member of the North Alabama Men’s Basketball program. Over the last three seasons at UNA, Foley has risen through the ranks within the men’s basketball program. He joined Pujol’s staff in 2022 as the director of basketball operations, then transitioned to special assistant to the head coach with more coaching and scouting responsibilities.
After two successful seasons with Foley coaching the Lion offense, Pujol has promoted him to a full-time assistant coach. Foley was instrumental to the program’s success, including a 24-11 overall record, the program’s first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular Season Championship and the program’s first appearance in the NIT. Over his last three seasons, he has assisted in the development of multiple Atlantic Sun Conference honors, including seven all-conference players, a Newcomer of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Last season, Foley assisted North Alabama’s offense in breaking multiple program records, including finishing in the KenPom top 100 in offensive efficiency rating and finishing second in the country in turnover percentage — highlighting the team’s elite ball security. The Lions scored 2,753 total points, averaging 78.7 PPG in 2024-25, which is the highest scoring average for UNA since 2018.
“Coach Foley has great experience from all levels of basketball,” said Pujol. “He has been an integral part of our offensive success at North Alabama. He does a great job of building relationships and is as authentic as it gets. He is a rising star in our profession.”
Prior to joining UNA, Foley worked at Division III powerhouse Christopher Newport as an assistant coach. He helped the Captains achieve a 27-3 overall record and an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2021-22.
Prior to CNU, he spent two years as assistant coach at Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts from 2019-21. Foley’s coaching experience also includes spending four years at C. Milton Wright High School, helping the program to a 3A Maryland State title and an overall record of 70-28 over the four-year span. He also had stints at St. Paul’s School (MD) and Eastern Tech High School (MD).
In addition to coaching, Foley has been involved with the operations and social media for The Nerd Team of the TBT and assists in camp operations at the Jay Bilas Skills Camp in the Coaches Development & Leadership programs.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Coach Pujol for his belief in me and excited to build on the momentum being created at the University of North Alabama,” said Foley. “This opportunity wouldn’t be possible without the support of my wife, the coaches who have shaped me throughout my journey, and the talented players I’ve been fortunate to coach. I’m excited to continue bringing value to our program, our university and our community.”
ANDREW STEELE – ASSISTANT COACH
Steele was a standout guard at Alabama from 2008-13, which came while Pujol served as an assistant under Coach Anthony Grant.
Steele played in 94 games with 20 starts as a four-year letterwinner, helping the Crimson Tide to three 20-win seasons, an NCAA Tournament appearance and two NIT berths, including a runner-up finish. He was also named team captain for the 2012-13 season.
As a coach, Steele started his career as the head coach at John Carroll Catholic High School — his alma mater — where he coached for two seasons before becoming the Men’s Basketball Director of Operations at South Alabama. He took a similar role at Troy in 2018-19 before returning to Alabama as the Director of Video Services.
In May 2020, Steele landed an assistant coach position at Alabama State University. After one season, he was hired as an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech University, spending four seasons in Cookeville.
“It brings me great joy to be reunited with Coach Steele,” said Pujol. “Coaching him at Alabama, Andrew displayed a tremendous work ethic and elite leadership. He has carried those qualities to the profession. He is a relentless recruiter and a great relationship builder. Our program just got better with the addition of Andrew Steele.”
The Steele family is synonymous with basketball excellence in the state of Alabama. Andrew’s brother, Ronald Steele, was an All-American at Alabama in 2004. He went on to assist Andrew at John Carroll in 2014, then took over as the head coach and athletic director in 2016. He is currently the school’s principal.
Andrew Steele said he is excited to reunite with Pujol and help continue the program’s success.
“We are unbelievably excited to be joining the University of North Alabama basketball program during this time of awesome momentum,” said Steele. “For us to be able to come back to our home state and be closer to family is an answered prayer. To do it with Coach Pujol and this amazing staff makes it so much better. I’ve known Coach Pujol for almost half of my life, and my career as a player and coach is a direct result of the man he is. We’re looking forward to getting involved in the Shoals community, and bringing more championships to UNA.”
ERIC WAGENLANDER – ASSISTANT COACH
Wagenlander returns to UNA as an assistant coach after serving as the Director of Player Development for the 2023-24 season. Last season, Wagenlander worked as an assistant coach at West Ashley High School in Charleston, S.C.
Ironically, his connection to Charleston is what led him to UNA the first time, as he worked alongside Ahmad Smith at Charleston Southern during the 2017-18 season.
Wagenlander was a four-year letterman at Wofford College from 2013-17, helping lead the Terriers to back-to-back SoCon titles in 2014 and 2015. He played for Coach Mike Young, who coached at Wofford for 17 seasons before taking over at Virginia Tech in 2019.
Wagenlander’s coaching career started at Charleston Southern for one season, then led him to two seasons at James Madison as the director of operations. He then joined Young’s staff at Virginia Tech for the 2020-21 season as a program assistant.
After spending much of his adult life in the game of basketball, Wagenlander transitioned to football in 2021 as he accepted a front office job in the NFL with the Houston Texans. He worked two years in team development and logistics. This led him back to basketball with his player development role at UNA in 2023.
“It’s great to welcome Coach Wagenlander back to the Shoals,” said Pujol. “Eric has had success as a player and has coached at the highest levels. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge that everyone in our organization will benefit from. I’m extremely grateful that Eric has rejoined our basketball family.”
In 11 years as a player and staff member, Wagenlander has been involved in eight winning seasons and three NCAA Tournaments. He was also named to the TopConnect “Top Young Coaches” list in 2020.
“I’m blessed to be back in Florence with Coach Pujol, and at such a great university,” said Wagenlander. “I can’t wait to get to work with our team and continue the success they have had. UNA and Florence have something special going on, and I’m just grateful to be a part of it.”
North Alabama Basketball Staff Update
