Northern Kentucky University Norse men’s basketball announced the hiring of David Watkins as an assistant coach on Tuesday.
“Adding David to our coaching staff is something I am really excited about,” said Northern Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Darrin Horn. “For a young coach, he brings a great amount of experience, having worked as a graduate assistant at VCU, a junior college coach where he was part of back-to-back 28-win seasons, and, most recently, a Division I assistant coach. That diverse background will serve us well in player development, and we look forward to seeing what he can do on the recruiting trail.”
David Watkins joins the Norse after spending the 2025-26 season at Radford, serving as an Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach and Special Assistant to the Head Coach. Watkins helped lead the Highlanders to a 16-16 overall record and a 9-7 record and third-place finish in the Big South, the program’s best finish since the 2022-23 campaign. Last season, Radford ranked inside the top-50 in the nation in fast break points and turnovers forced per game.
Before his time at Radford, Watkins spent two historic seasons as an assistant at Daytona State College, serving as the Falcons’ defensive coordinator. Watkins helped the Falcons rank top-five in the nation in turnovers forced per game in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, averaging 18.3 per game in his second season. In that span, Daytona State finished 56-8 overall, recording 28 wins in each season, and was crowned back-to-back Citrus Conference Champions, making consecutive appearances in the NJCAA National Tournament. The Falcons made an Elite Eight appearance for the first time in school history in the 2024-25 campaign. Watkins helped produce a pair of NJCAA All-Americans (Josue Grullon & Isaiah Dorceus) while with the Falcons.
Watkins’ first collegiate coaching job came on Mike Rhoades’ staff at Virginia Commonwealth (VCU), where he served as a graduate assistant in both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He helped the Rams win both Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles, culminating in an NCAA Tournament appearance. While with the Rams, they culminated a 49-18 overall record and a 29-7 record in Atlantic 10 play. At VCU, Watkins assisted in the player development of current NBA players Vince Williams Jr. and Jamir Watkins, and other notable players such as Ace Baldwin, Brandon Johns Jr., and Jalen DeLoach.
Watkins was a four-year forward at the University of New Hampshire, where he played from 2015 to 2019. He made 96 appearances over four seasons, scoring 376 points and grabbing 261 rebounds, and was a key member of the Wildcats, notching back-to-back 20-win seasons in his freshman and sophomore campaigns.
A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Watkins earned his master’s degree in sport leadership in 2023 from VCU and a bachelor’s degree in sport studies with a minor in business administration from the University of New Hampshire in 2019.
