David Riley (basketball)

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David Riley
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamWashington State
ConferenceWCC
Record0–0 (–)
Biographical details
Born (1988-11-28) November 28, 1988 (age 35)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Playing career
2007–2011Whitworth
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2011–2013Eastern Washington (GA)
2014–2021Eastern Washington (assistant)
2021–2024Eastern Washington
2024–presentWashington State
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2013–2014Eastern Washington (DBO)
Head coaching record
Overall62–38 (.620)
Tournaments1–1 (NIT)
0–1 (TBC)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 Big Sky regular season (2023, 2024)
Awards
2× Big Sky Coach of the Year (2023, 2024)

David Riley (born November 28, 1988) is an American college basketball coach and former college basketball player. Riley is the current head men’s basketball coach at Washington State University. Previously, he was the head coach at Eastern Washington University from 2021 to 2024. [1]

Playing career[edit]

Riley grew up in Palo Alto, California. He played college basketball at Whitworth University under Jim Hayford.[2] While starring for the Pirates, Riley was a three-time All-Northwest Conference first-team selection and finished his career ranked fourth all-time in points with 1,664 along with making four NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament appearances, including two Sweet Sixteens and an Elite Eight.[1]

Coaching career[edit]

When Hayford accepted the head coaching position at Eastern Washington, Riley followed as a graduate assistant coach. He would be elevated to director of basketball operations two years later, then in 2014 as a full assistant coach.[1] In his first year as an assistant, the Eagles were won both the regular season and Big Sky tournament titles en route to the school's second ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2015. After Hayford accepted the head coaching position at Seattle, Riley stayed on staff under new coach and fellow assistant Shantay Legans. Riley would be a part of a Big Sky regular season title in 2020, along with a Big Sky tournament title the following year for a berth in the 2021 NCAA tournament.

On March 22, 2021, Legans accepted the head coaching position at Portland and four days later, Eastern Washington promoted Riley to head coach.[3][4]

On April 2, 2024, Riley was announced as the new head coach at Washington State University, replacing Kyle Smith, who had departed for Stanford.

Personal life[edit]

Riley's father is an anesthesiologist at Stanford, while his uncle Mike Riley is the former head football coach at Oregon State and Nebraska.[5]

Head coaching record[edit]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Eastern Washington Eagles (Big Sky Conference) (2021–2024)
2021–22 Eastern Washington 18–16 11–9 T–5th TBC First Round
2022–23 Eastern Washington 23–11 16–2 1st NIT Second Round
2023–24 Eastern Washington 21–11 15–3 1st
Eastern Washington: 62–38 (.620) 42–14 (.750)
Washington State Cougars (West Coast Conference) (2024–present)
2024–25 Washington State
Washington State: 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–)
Total: 62–38 (.620)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "David Riley - Head Men's Basketball Coach - MEN'S BASKETBALL Coaches - Eastern Washington University Athletics". Eastern Washington University Athletics.
  2. ^ "15 Riley, David - Whitworth". Whitworth Pirates Athletics.
  3. ^ Collingwood, Ryan. "After NCAA men's tournament berth, Shantay Legans leaves Eastern Washington to coach Portland". Seattle Times.
  4. ^ "Eagles Gain Continuity in Hiring of David Riley as Head Coach". Eastern Washington University Athletics.
  5. ^ Collingwood, Ryan. "New coach David Riley excited to take the reins of Eastern Washington basketball". The Spokesman-Review.