By:Evan Roberts, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M Men’s Basketball head coach Buzz Williams welcomes a championship-caliber coaching staff with international and head coaching experience to Aggieland.
Associate head coach Jamie McNeilly, assistant coaches Devin Johnson and Lyle Wolf, special assistant to the head coach Dale Layer, director of basketball operations Vince Walden, director of internal operations Luke Hillin, director of creative design and branding Josh Chambers, director of basketball administration Baylie Stous, director of scouting Mike Ekanem, player relations coordinator Joe Fulce, associate athletic trainer Eddie Benion, director of sports performance David Jackson, graduate assistants Bryan Davis and Dillon Elder and program aide TJ Ryan comprise the staff.
A former player for Williams at New Orleans, McNeilly has been a part of Williams’ coaching staff for the last 11 seasons at Marquette and Virginia Tech. McNeilly was an assistant coach throughout his five-year tenure at Virginia Tech and added the responsibilities of director of student-athlete development in his last season. He helped lead the Hokies to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2017-19, a first for the program.
Prior to arriving at Virginia Tech, he had worked the previous six seasons at Marquette, including the final three years as the student-athlete development specialist. He spent the 2010-11 season as the team’s video coordinator, after working as a graduate manager his first two years. He earned his master’s degree in leadership studies in 2010, and was also an adjunct professor in the college of professional studies, teaching classes for three years in Marquette’s Graduate Sports Leadership program.
McNeilly has spent numerous years coaching with the Canadian Men’s Basketball National Team as an assistant. In the summer of 2011, McNeilly helped lead the Canadian Cadet Men’s Basketball team to a bronze medal at the FIBA Americas World Qualifying Championships held in Mexico. In 2012, McNeilly traveled to Brazil with the Canadian Junior Men’s National Team and helped guide the squad to a bronze medal finish at the FIBA Americas U18 Men’s Championship. The team posted a 4-1 record at the event, and Canada earned a medal for the third-consecutive year.
McNeilly’s international coaching experience continued in 2013 at the U19 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, as the team finished in sixth place in the 16-team tournament. In the summer of 2015, McNeilly was an assistant for Canada at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Herkalion, Greece, before coaching at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship in Valdivia, Chile. He helped lead the gold medal-winning Canadian team in the 2017 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup held in Cairo, Egypt.
McNeilly was a standout collegiate player for the Privateers, earning Sun Belt all-conference recognition as a junior and making the league’s academic honor roll following his senior year. He saw action under Williams as a senior in 2006-07, and averaged 38.4 minutes, 16.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists in conference play.
After earning a bachelor’s degree from UNO in interdisciplinary studies in 2007, the Toronto native played professionally in Germany in 2007-08. He joined USC Heidelberg of the Pro A League, where he averaged 10.9 points, 3 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game.
McNeilly possessed international experience prior to his stint in Germany, having played for Team Canada in two consecutive World University Games (2005 Summer Universiade in Turkey and 2007 Universiade in Thailand). While representing Canada in 2007, he helped his team earn a bronze medal as a team captain.
Johnson, who began his career as a student-assistant for Williams at UNO, enters his eighth season as a member of Coach Williams’ staff. Johnson served as an assistant coach last year at Virginia Tech, helping the Hokies to their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since the tournament expanded in 1985. Johnson spent the first four campaigns as the Hokies’ director of player personnel where he oversaw the program’s video needs, exchange procedures and players’ scheduling and time management.
Prior to his arrival at Virginia Tech, Johnson spent two years at Marquette. He played a crucial role in community initiatives and summer camps in addition to supervising all of the program’s video needs, including staff scouting efforts and exchange procedures.
Johnson worked for the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets prior to his time at Marquette. During his five-year tenure, he served as game presentation associate, group coordinator, group service manager and season manager.
The Zachary, Louisiana, native was a member of Williams’ staff as an undergraduate assistant at UNO during the 2006-07 campaign. He was involved in game day activities associated with the program, as well as assisting with the team’s opponent scouting process and game plan development. A 2008 graduate of UNO, Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree in business management and earned a minor in sport management.
A former graduate assistant for Williams with the Golden Eagles, Wolf begins his first season as an assistant coach after spending the last seven seasons with Williams at Virginia Tech and Marquette. Wolf spent the 2018-19 season as Virginia Tech’s director of men’s basketball operations and previously served as the assistant to the head coach and director of student-athlete development.
In his previous duties with the Hokies, he assisted Williams and the staff with a wide-range of responsibilities, including team travel, scouting, budgeting, summer camps and the staff’s day-to-day operations.
Wolf contributed to the program’s turnaround as Virginia Tech made four postseason appearances including three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
Wolf began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Marquette. He assisted in the day-to-day operations of the program and supervised the team’s managerial staff before obtaining a Master’s degree in sports leadership in the spring of 2014.
A member of the basketball team in 2006-07, Wolf graduated from Transylvania (Ky.,) in 2010 with a degree in business administration. Following graduation, the Lexington, Kentucky, native served as the junior varsity basketball coach at Sayre School, a position he held during the 2011-12 campaign.
Wolf earned his Doctorate of Education in global sports leadership from East Tennessee State in March 2018.
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2019-20 Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Buzz Williams
Associate Head Coach: Jamie McNeilly
Assistant Coach: Devin Johnson
Assistant Coach: Lyle Wolf
Special Assistant to the Head Coach: Dale Layer
Director of Basketball Operations: Vince Walden
Director of Internal Operations: Luke Hillin
Director of Creative Design and Branding: Josh Chambers
Director of Basketball Administration: Baylie Stous
Director of Scouting: Mike Ekanem
Player Relations Coordinator: Joe Fulce
Associate Athletic Trainer: Eddie Benion
Director of Sports Performance: David Jackson
Graduate Assistants: Bryan Davis & Dillon Elder
Program Aide: TJ Ryan