New Weber State men’s basketball head coach Eric Duft has announced his first addition to his coaching staff. Duft has hired Dan Russell as a new assistant coach to join the Wildcat staff.
Russell comes to Weber State after spending the last three seasons as an assistant coach with Montana State in the Big Sky. During his time at MSU, he helped lead the Bobcats to three winning seasons, including Big Sky regular season and tournament titles and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
At Montana State, Russell helped with the development of the Bobcat guards and coached multiple players to All-Big Sky honors.
Russell also has head coaching experience. Prior to Montana State, he spent 11 seasons at Casper College in his hometown of Casper, Wyoming, including six seasons as the head coach. During his time as head coach, he posted a 145-52 overall record and led the team to six-straight region tournaments and two regional championship games.
He also played two seasons at Casper College before earning his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wyoming. While in Laramie, he worked on Heath Schroyer’s staff as a graduate assistant coach with the Cowboys. He and his wife Keisha are the parents of two children, Hayes and Blake.
“We are very excited to have Dan join our basketball family at Weber State,” Duft said. “He has head coaching experience and has won at the highest level in the Big Sky. In addition, he is a person of high character who will help develop our young men in all areas of life. We welcome him and his family.”
Russell joins Eric Daniels and Jorge Ruiz as assistant coaches on Duft’s staff. Daniels returns for his fourth season on the Wildcat coaching staff. Ruiz was named an assistant coach earlier this year after spending the last four seasons as the Director of Operations with the Wildcats.
