Southwest Men’s Basketball Coach Bryan Bender has announced that Corey Schmidt was recently promoted from volunteer assistant to lead assistant coach for the Bears.
“The biggest thing for me was just being able to solely focus on basketball,” Schmidt said. “With the volunteer position, I was also the dorm director and night head resident. Being able to focus on basketball is a big piece for me. That is the career that I want to have in my life. I am very grateful for who I worked with in the dorms and for the opportunity that they have given me to make some money while coaching. But solely focusing on basketball was a huge plus for me.”
Schmidt said that he expects the same responsibilities that he had the year prior adding that he will do more direct work with Coach Bender as well.
“I don’t anticipate too many different responsibilities but maybe more trust with Coach Bender,” he said. “Obviously after you work with someone a year and you go into year two, you develop a little bit better of a relationship. I think that is going to be big plus for us.”
He is also excited to work with, in addition to a handful of new faces on the men’s team, multiple players from last season, as well.
In addition to thanking Coach Bender for giving him the opportunity to be lead assistant, Schmidt is also very grateful of former assistant coach Vince Thibodeau who left to take a job at Salem University in West Virginia.
“I’ve told everybody that I’ve worked with in the past that I loved them, and I have great relationships with them but the staff that we had last year at Southwest was the best that I have ever worked with in terms of working relationship,” he said. “We never had any issues or jealousy, and we could always talk about everything and be honest.”
Coach Bender is thrilled to keep Schmidt on his staff and excited to have him continue to contribute to the program.
“I am honored and excited to be able to retain and promote coach Corey Schmidt,” he said. “This past year he exceeded every expectation and made our program better in all aspects. He was pivotal in building our 2021 recruiting class, was huge in our player development plan and is exceptional in scouting. More importantly he is loyal, hardworking and has a passion for basketball, our program and our school. He has already made a huge impact at Southwest and I can’t wait to see him excel in his new role as a full-time assistant basketball coach.”
Schmidt elevated to Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach at SMCC
