Xavier University Sedler Family Head Men’s Basketball Coach Travis Steele announced that Danny Peters has joined his staff as an assistant coach. Peters spent the past three seasons as an assistant at the University of Arizona under former Xavier head coach Sean Miller.
Miller is not Peters’ only connection to Xavier. Peters worked under former Xavier assistant coach James Whitford at Ball State and played for former Xavier head coach Thad Matta at Ohio State.
“I am thrilled to welcome Danny Peters to our staff,” said Steele. “Danny comes to Xavier with a wealth of experience under two tremendous coaches in Sean Miller and James Whitford. I have known Danny since he was a freshman in college, and we have remained very close over the years. He has a tireless work ethic and is a terrific coach. He has one of the best offensive minds in all of college basketball and is also known as a relentless recruiter. He has done a great job of developing guards at both Arizona and Ball State.”
“I am excited to join the Xavier basketball family,” said Peters. “Xavier’s excellent winning tradition speaks for itself. At each college basketball program I have been a part of, I have worked alongside a former Musketeer. Each and every one of them speak about the Xavier family in the highest regard. I can’t wait to get started and work with our student-athletes, great staff and Head Coach Travis Steele. Go X!”
Peters spent seven years on Miller’s Arizona staff, including the past three years as an assistant coach and four years previously from 2010-14 working as a graduate manager for two years and then assistant director of basketball operations for his final two years. The Wildcats won a pair of Pac-12 Conference championships and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament twice during Peters’ first stint with the Wildcats.
During his time at Arizona, Peters helped the Wildcats sign multiple Top 20 recruiting classes, including a 2020 class that ranked among top five in the nation. The 2019-20 season saw Arizona win 21 games and lead the Pac-12 in scoring while also holding opponents to the third-fewest points per game.
Peters joined the Arizona staff in April of 2018 following a four-year stint as a Ball State assistant under Whitford. During his time with the Cardinals, Peters aided in the nation’s fourth-largest turnaround in 2015-16 as it earned the first of its two 20-win seasons and shared the MAC West Division championship. The program’s first postseason trip of Peters’ time in Muncie, Ind., the 2016 CIT, was BSU’s first postseason berth in 14 years.
The Cincinnati native played at Lakota East High School before transferring to New Albany High for his senior year. Peters was a four-year letterwinner at Ohio State from 2006 to 2010. The Buckeyes won two Big Ten regular season championships and a pair of Big Ten Tournaments during his playing career while also advancing to the national championship game of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, a run that included a heartbreaking Xavier overtime loss to No. 1 seed OSU in the NCAA Second Round.
Peters, 34, is the son of the late Dan Peters, a longtime college basketball coach. The elder Peters was the head coach at Walsh University (1983-88), St. Joseph’s College (Ind.) (1991-93) and Youngstown State (1993-99).
Peters joins Xavier Basketball Staff
