Sullivan-Ubben Head Men’s Basketball Coach Chris Collins has completed the Northwestern coaching staff for the 2024-25 season with the hiring of Shane Southwell as assistant coach. Southwell comes to Evanston after spending the last two seasons as associate head coach at Northern Illinois.
“We are excited to welcome Shane Southwell to our Wildcat coaching staff,” said Collins. “Shane brings great experience as a former player at Kansas State, under both Frank Martin and Bruce Weber, where he played a key role in a Big 12 Championship. Now he has transitioned into the coaching ranks, where he has worked with and learned under some outstanding coaches, both at the college and USA basketball levels. Shane’s strong ability to assist in player development and game planning, as well as his energy on the recruiting trail, will make a huge impact in our program.”
Additionally, Southwell made previous assistant coaching stops at his alma mater, Kansas State (2020-22), where he was instrumental in recruiting all-american Markquis Nowell, and Robert Morris (2019-20). He also served on Weber’s staff as video coordinator for the 2019 U19 World Cup, helping the USA win a gold medal with a 7-0 record.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the Northwestern family alongside Coach Collins and his staff,” remarked Southwell. “A program built on the standard of excellence both on and off the court, Coach Collins has created an environment of success that has proven to thrive in the competitive landscape of the Big Ten Conference, and I’m eager to get started. There’s something special happening here in Evanston and I’m more than ready to start building with this group.”
In 2023-24, Southwell helped NIU to its best start since 2015-16 as the Huskies opened 5-1. The Huskies finished the season recording the fourth-most 3-point field goals in school history (227) while playing the toughest schedule in the Mid-American Conference. David Coit became just the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points in just two seasons, en route to being named Third Team All-MAC and NABC All-District Second Team in 2023-24.
During his first season in DeKalb, Southwell helped the Huskies improve to 13 victories and an appearance in the MAC Tournament. NIU recorded its longest road winning streak since the 2002-03 season. The Huskies finished league play second in the MAC in field goal percentage, third in three-point percentage, third in field goal defense, third in three-point defense and third in assists. NIU had a pair of All-MAC honorees for the first time since 2003-04 as Coit was named to the All-MAC Third Team and Kaleb Thornton claimed All-MAC Honorable Mention recognition.
As an assistant at Kansas State, Southwell mentored three All-Big 12 selections, including Nijel Pack, who was named the league’s most improved player. He also spent two seasons as a graduate assistant in Manhattan from 2017-19, where the Wildcats made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Elite Eight during the 2017-18 season while winning 25 games. The following season, the Wildcats were the regular season champions of the Big 12, again posting 25 victories, including a 14-4 league mark.
While at Robert Morris, he helped the Colonials win both the Northeast Conference regular season and tournament championships before the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
As a player at Kansas State, the Harlem, N.Y. native played four seasons, earning four NCAA Tournament bids as well as the program’s first Big 12 regular season crown in 2012-13. He played for current Northwestern assistant coach Chris Lowery in Manhattan and is one of just eight Wildcats to reach the NCAA Tournament in all four seasons as a player.
An Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection, Southwell appeared in 126 career games at Kansas State, making 68 starts, and finished his career ranking eighth in program history with 271 assists. As a senior in 2013-14, he averaged career-highs of 9.9 points, 2.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game, and poured in a career-best 21 points against George Washington. He contributed to the team in many areas, ranking first in blocks, second in rebounds, assists and steals and third in minutes. Following his collegiate career, Southwell played three seasons professionally around the world, including Mexico, Australia and Switzerland.
Southwell earned a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State in communications studies in 2014 and a master’s in college student personnel and intercollegiate athletics from Kansas State in 2019.
