Following-up on something that I mentioned in yesterday’s DAILY DIRT…the hiring of Brandon Chambers as the head basketball coach at UTRGV is now official. Here’s the release from the school:
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Senior Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque announced on Friday the hiring of Brandon Chambers, who has made nine-straight NCAA Tournaments as an assistant coach at NC State, McNeese, Texas Southern, LSU, and VCU, as the new head men’s basketball coach.
Chambers will be formally introduced to the public and the media at a press conference on Monday, April 6 at 10:30 a.m. in the atrium at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Chambers helped NC State to a 20-win season, including a pair of wins over No. 18 Clemson and No. 16 North Carolina. NC State earned an at-large bid to play in the NCAA Tournament First Four round after finishing 36th in the NET and KenPom rankings.
Chambers guided Quadir Copeland to All-ACC Third Team honors and saw Darrion Williams to Honorable Mention All-ACC honors.
“Brandon Chambers brings to UTRGV an impressive record of achievement, a deep commitment to student-athlete success, and a clear vision for where he wants to take our program,” UTRGV President Guy Bailey said. “That matters because success is built not only on talent, but on purpose, preparation, and culture. We are proud to welcome him to the UTRGV family and confident he will help elevate our men’s basketball program in ways that inspire our campus and our community.”
“I want to personally welcome Coach Chambers and Danielle to the UTRGV family. This is an exciting time for UTRGV, and the success of our men’s basketball program the past two seasons helped us draw tremendous interest as we searched for a new leader,” Conque said. “I am confident Brandon will provide the right leadership our program needs to take the next step forward. Brandon brings so many qualities to our program, but what stood out the most is his love for his student-athletes, his understanding of the winning formula required to be successful, and his familiarity with championship success in the Southland Conference. Throughout his career, Brandon has been part of several very successful programs and understands what it takes to win championships. That experience combined with his energy, passion, and drive for success will serve our program and the Valley well in the coming years.”
Prior to his tenure at NC State, Chambers spent two seasons at McNeese (2023-25) as their lead assistant helping the Cowboys to a 58-11 record, the most wins in a two-year span in program history, a 36-2 Southland Conference (SLC) record, two SLC regular and tournament championships, and the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament win against No. 5 Clemson in 2025.
In his two seasons at McNeese, Chambers coached Shahada Wells and Javohn Garcia to back-to-back SLC Players of the Year and saw Christian Shumate earn back-to-back SLC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
“I am incredibly honored and grateful to be named head men’s basketball coach at UTRGV,” Chambers said. “I would like to thank President Guy Bailey and Senior Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque for entrusting me to lead this program into a new era. It was evident from the beginning of this process that there were total alignment and a shared vision within the university and administration to continue the momentum built from last season into a championship program for many years to come.”
Before arriving at McNeese, Chambers had two different stints at Texas Southern where he served as an assistant coach in 2022-23 and from 2019-21. In 2022-23, Chambers helped the Tigers to a SWAC Tournament title en route to the NCAA Tournament.
In 2020-21, Chambers helped guide the Tigers to a SWAC Tournament title and a win in the NCAA Tournament, which was the second in program history. Chambers worked directly with Michael Weathers who went on to earn First Team All-SWAC, SWAC Newcomer of the Year, and SWAC Tournament MVP honors while also helping the Tigers win 14 of its final 15 games.
In between stints at Texas Southern, Chambers spent the 2021-22 season at LSU where he helped the Tigers earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament after finishing the season with 22 wins and a NET ranking of 20th. Chambers helped LSU reach as high as No. 12 in the national polls and finish the season with the sixth ranked defense in the country.
Chambers helped develop eventual NBA Draft pick, AP All-American, and Southeastern Conference (SEC) First Team honoree Tari Eason as well as All-SEC Second Team honoree Darius Days, and SEC All-Freshman honoree Brandon Murray.
Prior to his first stint at Texas Southern, Chambers spent three seasons (2016-19) at the University of Nevada under Eric Musselman where he was the Director of Basketball Operations. He helped the Wolf Pack win three-straight Mountain West regular season titles, one West Tournament Title, and three-straight NCAA Tournaments, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2018.
Chambers helped the Wolf Pack to 58 wins from 2017-19, which is the best two-year win total in program history, including a program record 29 wins in 2018-19.
Chambers spent the 2015-16 season as an assistant coach at Paul VI High School where he guided the program to a spot in the WCAC playoffs after a 20-win season and developed VJ King into a McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic Selection.
Prior to his stop at Paul VI High School, Chambers spent two seasons (2013-15) as an assistant at Marymount University where he was instrumental in helping the program improve to 16 wins in his first season and then helped the program to a program record 19 wins in his second season.
Chambers began his coaching career at Misericordia University where he spent two seasons (2011-13) as an assistant coach. In 2012-13, Chambers guided the program to the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) semifinals after a 13-win season. In his first season, Chambers helped the program win the MAC championship with a program record 21 wins en route to the program’s first ever NCAA Division III Tournament appearance.
Prior to starting his coaching career, Chambers spent two seasons (2009-11) Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as a student manger under Shaka Smart. In 2010-11, Chambers saw the Rams advance to the Final Four after winning the NCAA Southwest Regional by beating USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, and Kansas.
In his first season with the program, Chambers saw VCU win the College Basketball Invitational and finish the season with 27 wins.
Chambers has garnered some accolades along the way as he was named to the Silver Waves Media Top 100 Most Impactful High Major Assistants this past season. In 2020, Chambers was named to the Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team, as one of the most outstanding men’s college basketball coaches under 30 years old and was also named to the Silver Waves Media top 50 Impactful Low Major Assistants.
Chambers also spent some time (2013-16) on the AAU circuit as the coach for Nike Team Takeover and East Coast Fusion (2012-13) where he helped over 30 student-athletes earn NCAA Division I scholarships.
Chambers graduated from VCU in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and earned his master’s degree from Misericordia University in 2013.
