Taurus Samuels has been named as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Stonehill College.
Samuels joins the Skyhawks after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Dartmouth College. One of the youngest coaches in Division I basketball, Samuels played an integral role in helping guide the Big Green through one of the program’s most successful stretches in recent history, highlighted by Dartmouth’s first-ever Ivy Madness appearance, its first winning season since 1999, and the most Ivy League victories in a two-year span since the 1999-2000 seasons. Following the 2024-25 campaign, Dartmouth’s staff earned Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year honors, led by Head Coach David McLaughlin.
Samuels assisted in implementing Dartmouth’s offensive and defensive systems while leading the program’s rebounding strategy. During the 2024-25 season, the Big Green finished 10th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage and led the Ivy League in defensive efficiency, climbing as high as No. 98 nationally in KenPom defensive efficiency. Offensively, Dartmouth posted one of the nation’s most improved attacks, increasing its scoring average from 61.9 points per game to 77.4 points per game.
Player development was also a key component of Samuels’ role with the Big Green. He helped mentor multiple All-Ivy League selections, including First Team honoree Ryan Cornish ’25 and Second Team selection Brandon Mitchell-Day ’26. Cornish elevated his scoring average from 6.9 to 17.1 points per game as a senior, finishing his career as a 1,000-point scorer and one of the Ivy League’s top perimeter threats. Mitchell-Day developed into one of the league’s premier interior players and rebounders, leading the Ivy League in rebounding in back-to-back seasons, while concluding his career with more than 1,000 points and 600 rebounds.
Samuels also played an instrumental role in the development of Connor Amundson ’28 and Kareem Thomas ’28. Amundson earned five Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors as a freshman while leading the conference in three-point percentage and posting the Ivy League’s top assist-to-turnover ratio in back-to-back seasons. Thomas emerged as one of the country’s top breakout performers during the 2025-26 season, increasing his scoring average from 2.0 to 15.9 points per game, ranking among Ivy League leaders in scoring and three-point percentage.
As a student-athlete at Dartmouth under McLaughlin, Samuels was a four-year member of the program, with his playing career spanning three seasons due to the Ivy League cancelling the 2020-2021 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He served as starting point guard for two years and was elected co-captain during his senior season. In his final season with the Big Green, he scored a career-high 23 points in a victory over Big East opponent Georgetown University, including six three-pointers. He also finished second on the team in made three-pointers and third in assists, earning the John Di Iorio Award for hustle, drive and determination.
Following his graduation from Dartmouth, Samuels transferred to the University of Minnesota for his final season of eligibility. Playing under Head Coach Ben Johnson, he was elected team co-captain prior to the 2022-23 season and appeared in 28 games with 13 starts, while serving as a mentor to the program’s younger guards.
A native of Oceanside, California, Samuels earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Dartmouth College in 2022 before receiving his Master of Education in sport management from The University of Minnesota in 2023. Prior to beginning his coaching career, he worked as an Investor Relations Analyst at Teneo, a global advisory firm based in New York City.”
https://stonehillskyhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/taurus-samuels/1411
