East Carolina University Men's Basketball

Michael Schwartz enters his fifth season as head coach of the East Carolina men's basketball program after being appointed the 24th head coach in program his...

Colin Donahue is in his third season as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach with the Pirates' men's basketball program. Donahue arrives in Greenville after spending the last two seasons at the University of Nevada where he was a graduate assistant with the men's basketball team. Prior to joining the Pack, Donahue spent one year working as a financial analyst at Eli Lilly & Company while also continuing to work part-time in college basketball as a volunteer-assistant coach at Marian University in Indianapolis. Originally from Carmel, Indiana, Donahue attended college at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where he played baseball for the Tigers for one year before joining the Tigers' men's basketball staff as a student assistant coach for the following three seasons. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from DePauw and recently acquired his master's in business administration from Nevada in the spring of 2024.

Colton Susen was named an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at East Carolina University in June 2024. Susen arrives in Greenville after spending the last two seasons at Southern Illinois University where he served in the same role with the men's basketball team and the men's and women's golf programs. He comes to ECU with a specialty in all aspects of basketball performance along with an extensive background in strength and conditioning, nutrition, and sport science application. Prior to his two seasons with the Salukis, Susen was the first full-time Director of Basketball Performance at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, working with men's and women's basketball programs in all facets of the sport. Before his stint as the Director of Basketball performance at SIUE, he was a graduate assistant in the same program, spending a total of four years at the university. Prior to SIUE, Susen served as an intern strength and conditioning coach for the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan, working exclusively with the men's and women's basketball teams. A 2017 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Susen holds a bachelor's degree in exercise sport science with an emphasis in coaching competitive athletics. He obtained his master's degree in exercise physiology shortly after at SIUE. Susen is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Performance and Sport Scientist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Grady Dillon was hired as an Assistant Director of Media Relations in August 2022. Dillon oversees media relations for the men's basketball, softball and women's swimming and diving programs. A 2020 graduate of East Carolina University, Dillon recently earned his master's in Sports Administration at the University of Louisville while serving as a graduate assistant in the athletics department for sports information. In his role, Dillon assisted with coverage of the Cardinals' 22 sports including postseason coverage of women's basketball, volleyball and baseball. During the spring, Dillon served as the primary contact for men's tennis and covered the team in the 2022 ACC Men's Tennis Tournament and 2022 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament. Dillon also served as the editor of the football and men's basketball digital game programs. The Greenville, N.C. native earned his degree in Communication while at ECU, where he assisted the media relations department with football, men's and women's basketball and baseball through his four years as a student. During his senior year, Dillon was an intern with the ECU News Services office and wrote monthly feature stories called 'Pirate Profiles', which highlight outstanding students and faculty at the university.

I.J. Poole enters his third season as an assistant coach for the East Carolina Men's Basketball program after being hired to the position in June 2024. Poole...

Jennifer Bonner was appointed to the East Carolina University Office of Student Development staff in April of 2005 and currently serves as the department's a...

Jesse Higdon enters her fifth year with the Pirates and second as director of basketball operations/chief of staff for the Pirates' men's basketball program ...

Josh Giardina is in his fifth season in Greenville and his fourth as assistant coach for the East Carolina men's basketball program after serving as the dire...

Michael Perry enters his third season with the Pirates and second as assistant coach/general manager after joining the staff in August 2024. Perry previously served as the radio color analyst for each ECU men's basketball game for the last three seasons. The hire marks a return to the Pirates' bench for Perry, who served as an assistant coach for East Carolina for 11 seasons including the 2017-18 season when he was the Pirates' interim head coach for the team's final 24 games. "We are very fortunate to be able to add Mike Perry to our coaching staff," Schwartz said. "He is a true professional that brings experience, relationships and a genuine passion for this university and program. Mike is a first-class human being that we are very excited to have back in our corner here at ECU." Prior to his 11 seasons on the coaching staff at ECU, Perry spent five years (2003-07) as the head coach at Georgia State after serving as an assistant coach to "Lefty" Driesell for five years. During his 10 years, Perry was a major catalyst in the growth of the basketball program and helped lead the transition from the Atlantic Sun Conference into the Colonial Athletic Association. During his tenure at Georgia State, the Panthers won 165 games (an average of 16.5 per year) and advanced to postseason play twice. Perry helped guide the Panthers to the Atlantic Sun Conference title in 2001 and a NCAA Tournament First Round upset of Wisconsin. Georgia State received a bid to the NIT the following year

Nate Clark begins his 18th year as the men's basketball athletic trainer and second as the Assistant Athletic Director for Medical Services at ECU. He is res...

Riley Davis enters his fourth season at East Carolina and first as the Pirates' associate head coach after serving as an assistant coach in the previous three seasons. Prior to arriving in Greenville, Davis spent four seasons at UT Arlington where he was promoted to assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator in April of 2021. In his first season with the Mavericks in 2018-19, Davis played an integral role in guiding a UTA team predicted to finish second to last in the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Poll to a second-place finish in the regular-season standings and a berth in the Sun Belt Tournament Final for the second-straight year. In 2019-20, he helped the Mavericks finish in the top 40 nationally in four key statistical categories: assist-to-turnover ratio (16th, 1.3), three-point percentage defense (20th, 29.6), fewest turnovers per game (29th, 11.2) and assists per game (35th, 14.9). The 29.6 percent rate for opponents from the three-point line set a single-season program record for defensive performance by the Mavs - bettering the mark set in 2018-19 of 29.8. In 2020-21 behind Davis, UT Arlington once again wrapped up a year in the top 40 in the country in the following categories: blocks per game (21st, 4.8), steals per game (24th, 8.3), turnover margin (33rd, +2.8) and three-point field goals made per contest (37th, 9.0). Davis served as the video coordinator and director of player development at Tennessee for two seasons before coming to UTA in April of 2018. Pri