I first mentioned this one in the DAILY DIRT back on 8/4. It’s now been made official – Stephen Rodgers has been named as the Director of Basketball Operations at Utah Valley. Here’s the OFFICIAL RELEASE from UVU:
Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen has announced the hiring of Stephen Rodgers as the director of basketball operations on his men’s basketball staff at Utah Valley. Rodgers comes to UVU after working as an assistant coach at Newberry College in South Carolina.
“I am excited to welcome Stephen Rodgers into the Utah Valley community,” said Madsen. “Stephen is a proven leader with deep experience in operations, coaching, and recruiting across both the D1 and D2 levels. Stephen knows the game and he has a deep rolodex of relationships in the basketball world. His work ethic is unique and his passion for the game comes through in everything that he does. I could not be more excited to welcome him to UVU.”
Rodgers spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach at Newbery College where he helped the Wolves to a 15-13 overall record and a 14-10 mark in the South Atlantic Conference. Newberry ranked 37th nationally in three-point field goal defense (31.4%), 55th in the country in scoring defense (67.9ppg.), and 57th in fewest turnovers per game at 11.4. Rodgers worked with the post players where Newberry ranked 48th in the country in offensive rebounds at 11.96 per game. The Wolves reached the semifinals of the SAC Tournament, the best showing at the tournament for the team since the 2015-16 season. Newberry also picked up a top-10 win over No. 9 Queens University during the 2021-22 season, which was just the second top-10 victory in school history.
During the 2020-21 season, Rodgers worked as a graduate assistant at Florida State where he played an essential role in helping the Seminoles to a 37.6 percent clip from three-point range, which was the top mark in the ACC. The 37.6 percent mark from long range also ranked 21st in the nation. Rodgers worked alongside one of the nation’s top post-player developers in the country, Stan Jones. Defensively, the Seminoles ranked 12th in the nation in both block percentage and opponent 2-point field goal percentage. The team was also 24th in opponent effective field goal percentage and 33rd in defensive efficiency. Florida State finished the 2020-21 season with an 18-7 overall record, which included an appearance in the Sweet 16 and a final ranking of No. 14 in the AP Poll.
Prior to Florida State, Rodgers spent one season on the staff at Missouri Baptist University (2019-20) alongside head coach Preston Ingram, helping the team to a 15-14 overall record to clinch an AMC conference tournament berth. During his season with Missouri Baptist, the Spartans ranked 21st nationally in defensive 3-point field goal percentage and 28th in scoring defense.
Rodgers spent one season in the high school ranks as an assistant coach at the Hammond School (2018-19) in Columbia, South Carolina. He helped the team to a 3A SCISA State runner-up. He spent three years as the Director of Scouting at Big Shots.
A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Rodgers played for the legendary coach Tim Whipple at Irmo High School. He is a graduate of Coastal Carolina University with a degree in psychology and a minor in sociology. He graduated with his Master’s in Sports Management from Florida State in 2021.
