Jerry Brown and Donald Brady were named assistant coaches for the Washington State men’s basketball team, WSU Head Coach David Riley announced. Brown and Brady both coached with Riley last season at Eastern Washington, guiding the Eagles to the Big Sky Conference Championship.
Brown spent the last seven years working in college basketball after completing a playing career at Fresno State, Santa Clara, before a short professional career in Europe. Since then, Brown has served in director and coaching roles at UTEP, Stanford, San Diego, and Denver.
“I want to thank the Washington State Athletics staff and Coach Dave Riley for the opportunity to join the Cougs,” Brown said. “I pride myself on developisng player skills on both ends of the court, while helping student-athletes succeed in the classroom and in life. I can’t wait to get started in Pullman. Go Cougs!”
Prior to joining Riley at Eastern Washington, Brown spent the 2022-23 season as an assistant at Denver University. He had stops at San Diego (2019-22), Stanford (2019), UTEP (2018-19) and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons (2017-18). As a student-athlete, Brown played at both Fresno State and Santa Clara University, taking on leadership positions as team captain while earning his bachelor’s degree in 2013 (Fresno State) and master’s degree in 2015 (Santa Clara).
“Jerry is a coach with incredible ties to, and knowledge of, West Coast basketball,” Coach Riley said of Brown. “His expertise on the court emphasizes fundamentals and player development. Jerry is a great coach and even better person, who embraces the hard-working mentality we pride ourselves on and are continuing to build at WSU.”
Brady arrives in Pullman after spending the 2023-24 season in Cheney with Riley and Brown. Brady, who came up the coaching ranks in western Washington, served as head coach at Shoreline Community College and Bellevue College, winning league titles at both schools before his transition to Division-I.
“I want to thank Coach Dave and WSU Athletics for this opportunity to join Cougar basketball,” Brady said. “My family and I consider Washington home, and we can’t wait to build a community here in Pullman. I look forward to continuing the team’s success and working with an incredible group of student-athletes to bring pride and excitement to Beasley Coliseum. Go Cougs!”
Brady has some ties to the WSU program, as the former coach of graduating Cougar guard Ben Olesen. Brady coached Olesen for two seasons at Bellevue College. Brady joined the EWU staff in July 2023 as an assistant coach after a five-year tenure as head coach at Bellevue. He led the Bulldogs to the NWAC Championship game twice and won the 2023 title, earning conference Coach of the Year honors. Prior to Bellevue, Brady was head coach at Shoreline Community College for two years, an assistant at Bellevue for five seasons, and an assistant at the University of the Redlands (D-III) for two. He played at the Redlands from 2003-06, including two years as captain, and (as of 2023) ranks 6th in program history in assists.
“I’m excited to welcome Donald to our staff in Pullman,” Riley said of Brady. “He is a skilled coach with deep ties with basketball in Washington state and embodies the family culture we are building at WSU. Donald approaches his work with a championship mentality and has won at just about every level of Washington state college basketball.”
Washington State Basketball Staff Update
