Creighton University Men's Basketball

Greg McDermott begins his 16th year at Creighton after leading the Jays to new heights the last few years. The dean of BIG EAST coaches has seen the Bluejays appear in the Sweet 16 three times and the Elite Eight once in the last five years, while leading CU to nine straight top-four finishes in BIG EAST play. Named the 16th head coach in Creighton men’s basketball history on April 27, 2010, McDermott boasts a 350-171 record in his first 15 seasons, while returning the program to the national rankings with an up-tempo style of play that has seen fans turn out in record numbers. Thirty-five of 37 seniors to complete their eligibility the past 12 years have earned their undergraduate degree, with 26 going on to play professionally and four others to graduate school. Last season, CU tied a school-record with 15 league wins, while also returning to the BIG EAST Tournament title game. Ryan Kalkbrenner joined Patrick Ewing as the league’s second four-time Defensive Player of the Year, in addition to being named National Defensive Player of the Year and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year. He was a second-round pick of the Charlotte Hornets. Last year’s team defeated No. 1 Kansas in December, won at two-time defending national champ UConn and eliminated No. 10 Louisville in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2023-24, Creighton tied for second in the BIG EAST, matched its best NCAA Tournament seed in program history (No. 3), and returned to the Sweet 16. Baylor Scheierman

OMAHA, Neb. (March 25, 2026) – Alan Huss was introduced as the 17th head coach in the Creighton men’s basketball history on March 25, 2026. Huss, who served six years as assistant coach (2017-23) before returning in April of 2025 as associate head coach and head coach in waiting, took over after the retirement of Greg McDermott following Creighton’s postseason run at the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas on April 4, 2026. A 2002 Creighton graduate, Huss becomes the first alum to take the reins of the men’s basketball program since Tom Apke patrolled the Bluejay sideline from 1974-81. “I am incredibly honored and humbled to be named the head men’s basketball coach at Creighton University,” said Huss. “This University has meant so much to me as a former player, as an alum and through the seven years I’ve spent serving this program. Creighton helped shape who I am, and the opportunity to now lead this program is something I do not take lightly. “I want to sincerely thank Father Hendrickson and Marcus Blossom for their trust and belief in me. I also want to express my deep gratitude to Coach Greg McDermott, who elevated this program to national prominence and built a culture of consistency and excellence that is respected across the country. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn under his leadership and for the belief he has shown in me throughout this transition. “Following coaches like Greg McDermott and Dana Altman is both a privilege and a responsibility. They establ

Derek Kellogg enters his third season at Creighton as an assistant coach.He has coached at the Division I level since 1997 and boasts 14 years of head coaching experience. Creighton has won 25 games in both seasons since Kellogg’s arrival in 2023, going a combined 50-21 overall and 29-11 in BIG EAST play. Two Bluejays from his first team have already played in the NBA, and Ryan Kalkbrenner was a Second Round pick in 2025 by Charlotte and expected to be a key piece of the Hornets’ future. Kellogg spent the 2022-23 season at his alma mater, Massachusetts, where he was an assistant coach on Frank Martin’s staff. It was at UMass where Kellogg first became a household name, serving as the point guard for John Calipari’s Minutemen from 1991-95. UMass went 111-24 during that time, winning four outright regular-season titles and four straight league tournament crowns. The Minutemen went 30-5 and reached the Sweet 16 his freshman year and 29-5 while advancing to the Elite Eight his senior campaign, when he was also named Third Team All-Atlantic 10. Kellogg was a two-time team captain and three-time All-Atlantic 10 Academic selection, closing his career with 712 points, 453 assists and 344 rebounds as he shot 38.1 percent from three-point range. Kellogg joined the coaching ranks in 1997, working two seasons for Jim Larrañaga at George Mason before he served as an assistant coach at Youngstown State in 1999-2000. He spent eight seasons working for Calipari as an assistant coach at Memph

Geoffrey Groselle returns to his alma mater as a grad assistant after nearly a decade of playing professional basketball. The 7-foot center played at Creighton from 2011-16 before the Plano, Texas native embarked on a long professional career that included stops in Germany, Kazakhstan, France, Italy and Poland. In 98 games at Creighton, Groselle finished with 593 points, 317 rebounds, 66 blocks and a school-record in career field goal percentage (.684). He also played with USA Basketball in the 2019 Pan American Games. He and his wife, Kelsi, reside in Gretna with their son Brooks.

Jeff Vanderloo is entering his 15th year as director of basketball operations. He helps handle Creighton travel and logistics among his many duties. He also ...

John McKew enters his 10th year as an Administrative Specialist with the Creighton men’s basketball program in 2025-26. He assists in the overall internal day-to-day operations of the program, including coordination of team travel and road logistics. In addition, McKew helps with on-campus recruiting, event scheduling, NIKE relations, and oversight of Creighton’s student managers, among other areas. McKew was part of the Creighton staff that captured the program’s first BIG EAST title in 2019-20 and has contributed to multiple postseason runs, including trips to the Sweet 16 (2020-21, 2022-23, 2023-24) and Elite Eight (2022-23). He first joined the Bluejay program in 2011 as a student manager, serving five seasons in that role before transitioning to his current position. A native of Portland, Maine, McKew earned his bachelor’s degree in Lifestyle Management from Creighton in 2016 and later completed a Master of Science from Creighton in 2019. He and his wife Maggie (Baumert), a former All-BIG EAST volleyball player at Creighton, reside in Omaha, with their daughters Ruthie and Sadie.

Julien Berry is in his first year as a graduate assistant at Creighton, but is no stranger to the program. The Aurora, Ill., native has been a student manager for the Bluejays the past four seasons. During that time, Creighton has gone 92-46 with four NCAA Tournament trips. The Bluejays are one of seven programs nationally to win an NCAA Tournament game each season, joining Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Houston, Michigan State and Tennessee.

After a long professional career as a player, Justin Carter begins his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Creighton this winter. The Gaithersburg Md., native played at Creighton from 2008-10, starting in 65-of-66 appearances and contributing 584 points, 392 rebounds and 124 assists for a pair of postseason teams. Carter spent a dozen years as a pro, playing in Turkey, Venezuela, China, Israel, Russia, Kazakhstan, Italy, France, Croatia and Romania. He and his wife, Laura, live in Omaha with their kids Justin Jr. , Isaiah, Ava, Caden and Juliette.

Longtime men’s basketball assistant coach Len Gordy is in his 21st year as Creighton’s diversity and inclusion officer for athletics, and 32nd overall at CU. He also works in the University’s Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion on campus as a Student and Community Outreach Advisor. In his position, Gordy assists in the recruitment, retention, development and graduation of all student-athletes, helps the Operation Bluejay program reach diverse populations in Omaha, and trains all coaches and staff on diversity and inclusion issues. He has also served on selection committees for coaching and administrative vacancies in the Department of Athletics while helping to identify qualified minority candidates. In 2019, Gordy was named Volunteer of the Year by the Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands, while in 2021 Creighton awarded him with its Distinguished Service Staff Award. Gordy spent the 2004-05 season as the school’s director of basketball operations after spending the previous 10 seasons on the bench as an assistant coach for the Bluejays. As director of basketball operations, Gordy coordinated team travel and community outreach and service, while also helping with on-campus recruiting and summer camps. Gordy graduated from the University of Arizona in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in radio and television communications. A native of Chester, Pennsylvania, Gordy started his coaching career at his alma mater, spending six seasons as an assistant to Fred Snowden on the Ari

Malik Garner is in his first year as a graduate assistant at Creighton. He played collegiately at both Saginaw Valley State and LeMoyne. The Midland, Mich., product served as a graduate assistant the past two seasons at High Point alongside current Bluejay assistant coaches Alan Huss and Mike Nesbitt.

Mike Nesbitt joined Creighton’s basketball staff in 2025 as an assistant coach following two record-breaking seasons at High Point University under head coac...

Former Bluejay guard Mitch Ballock was elevated into an assistant coaching role in the off-season after spending the previous two years at Creighton as a graduate assistant. Creighton has gone a combined 50-21 during the past two seasons with Ballock on staff. The Bluejays own three top five victories in that time, including victories against both No. 1 Connecticut (2023-24) as well as No. 1 Kansas (2024-25) among its seven Top 25 victories. The Bluejays have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in both seasons, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2023-24 and the Second Round of the Big Dance a season ago. A gym rat blessed with a brilliant basketball mind, Ballock works closely with Creighton’s guards. He also owns in-depth first-hand knowledge of head coach Greg McDermott’s offensive and defensive systems, as well as the Bluejay Basketball culture. Among the players he has helped mentor are NBA guards Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander, in addition to NBA Summer League participants Steven Ashworth and Jamiya Neal. A native of Eudora, Kan., Ballock played at Creighton from 2017-21, during which time the Bluejays won 87-of-130 games. The left-handed sharpshooter was a three-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week in 2017-18, when he made the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. He was a Preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST choice in 2020-21, when he was on the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List, and ended his senior campaign by winning the BIG EAST’s Sportsmanship Award. Ballock started ever

Steve Merfeld gives Creighton the unique distinction of having two staff members who have won NCAA Tournament games as a head coach. After three seasons as a...

Trey Zeigler is in his third year at Creighton. He started as a graduate assistant in 2022-23 before returning as an assistant coach last year. CU went 25-11 a year ago in Zeigler’s return to Omaha, helping Creighton tie a school-record with 15 league wins and advance to the title game of the BIG EAST Tournament. Zeigler spent the 2022-23 campaign as a graduate manager with the Bluejays, during which time CU won 24 games and reached the Elite Eight. He played an integral part of player development of All-BIG EAST players Ryan Kalkbrenner, Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander. CU spent nine weeks in the AP poll, climbing to as high as No. 7. While at Creighton he earned his master’s degree in Organizational Leadership. When Alan Huss was hired as head coach at High Point in 2023, Zeigler joined the Panther staff as an assistant coach. HPU went from 14-17 to 27-9 in Zeigler’s lone year in North Carolina, winning the Big South regular-season title and advancing to the title game of the College Basketball Invitational. The Panthers jumped from 299 to 114 in the final KenPom rankings, the nation’s second-best improvement. High Point’s 27 victories were tied for 15th-most nationally and the most for the Panthers since 1978-79. Zeigler is a TCU graduate, having earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in General Studies with an emphasis on Communication in 2015. He played two years at Central Michigan for his father, Ernie Zeigler. Trey then went on to play one year at Pittsburgh before t