Marquette University Men's Basketball

Relationships. Growth. Victory. These themes serve as the foundation of the Marquette men’s basketball program under sixth-year head coach Shaka Smart and the concentrated focus on those areas has led the team to tremendous success, both on and off the court. Marquette participated in the NCAA tournament in four of his first five seasons with the Golden Eagles, including the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16 (2023-24) since 2012-13. Smart was named the 18th head coach at Marquette on March 26, 2021. In 17 seasons as a head coach at Virginia Commonwealth (2009-15), Texas (2015-21) and Marquette (2021-pres.), Smart has guided the three programs to a total of 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and 14 postseason selections overall. Those trips were highlighted by a run from the First Four to the Final Four by VCU in 2011. The 49-year-old Smart owns an overall record of 382-203 (.653) entering the 2026-27 campaign. He posted a record of 163-56 (.744) at VCU and made five trips to the NCAA. While at Texas, the Longhorns were 109-86 (.559) and made NCAA appearances in 2016, 2018 and 2021. Texas claimed the National Invitation Tournament title in 2019. During his career, Smart has coached a total of 10 NBA players, including two lottery picks and 11 overall draft selections. A group of 36 student-athletes has earned all-conference accolades (55 total selections) and 11 times a member of the program has claimed a league season-long specialty award (player of year, sixth man, top defens

The 2025-26 campaign will mark the third for Alexis Peterson, who serves as Executive Assistant to the Head Coach, with the Marquette University men's basketball program. Peterson's duties include the coordination of head coach Shaka Smart's schedule, assisting with driving coach Smart's culture throughout the Marquette and Milwaukee communities, and supporting projects within the program. While Peterson is new to campus, she is very familiar with the greater Milwaukee community. With over 15 years of administrative experience, she most recently served as Special Assistant/Director of Scheduling in the Office of the Mayor with both Tom Barrett (2012-2021) and Cavalier Johnson (2021-23). Her responsibilities included vetting and scheduling in-and-out of office meetings and public and private events, preparing briefing materials and assisting with logistics for projects including the State of the City gatherings, 2020 DNC Convention bid and special mayoral conferences. Peterson's experience in the Office of the Mayor also included roles as Constituent Relations Manager (2009-12) and Scheduling Coordinator (2007-09). The Milwaukee native earned her bachelor's in professional communications from Alverno College in 2007.

The 2025-26 campaign is the fifth for Ben Retzlaff and third as Assistant Athletics Director for Men's Basketball, promoted to the position in November, 2023. With the Golden Eagles, Retzlaff assists in administrative and strategic oversight of the program. Internally, Retzlaff serves as a creative resource in recruiting, culture-building, graphic design, and video. Externally, he serves as a program liaison with Marketing & Ticketing, Communications, Learfield, and other athletics and university departments at Marquette. Program messaging, branding and culture are his primary focuses with the utilization of social media, in-arena at Fiserv Forum, team marketing efforts and long-term projects. Retzlaff arrived in Milwaukee after most recently working for one season at Louisiana Tech as a graduate manager and Director of Creative and Branding for men's basketball. Under Eric Konkol, Retzlaff was a part of a team that went 24-8, while capturing a C-USA West Division championship and third place finish in the NIT in 2020-21. While at LA Tech, he helped develop Kenneth Lofton Jr.'s digital brand amidst his standout performance as a member of the 2021 USA Basketball U19 World Cup Team that claimed gold in Riga, Latvia. Prior to Louisiana Tech, Retzlaff served as an assistant coach at Division III University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for three seasons (2017-20). In 2019-20 under Matt Siverling, Retzlaff helped coach a Blugolds team that went 20-10 and earned a birth to the DIII NCAA

The 2026-27 season will mark the second for Cameron Brown as a program assistant with the Marquette University men’s basketball program. The Plano, Texas native will assist in the day-to-day operations of the program while completing his master’s degree in business administration. Brown, a four-year letterwinner with the Golden Eagles (2012-25), appeared in 20 career games and was named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team on four occasions. He graduated in May of 2025 with bachelor’s degrees in marketing and information systems.

The 2026-27 Marquette University men's basketball campaign will mark the third for CJ Rivers as an assistant coach with the program. Rivers arrived on campus...

The 2026-27 campaign will mark the sixth for Cody Hatt as an assistant coach with the Marquette University men’s basketball program. Hatt served under Smart ...

Colin Martinek joined the men’s basketball staff as Creative Designer, bringing experience across Division I athletics in graphic design, branding, and visua...

The 2025–26 campaign marks the first for Davis Stelzer as Manager, Creative Content & Social Media with Marquette Men's Basketball, joining the Golden Eagles in October 2025. Stelzer leads the program's visual storytelling efforts through video, photography, and graphic design while also managing the team's social media platforms. His work plays a key role in shaping the program's brand identity, driving fan engagement, and supporting recruiting through dynamic, narrative-driven content. Stelzer also serves as a creative resource across internal and external initiatives, collaborating with marketing, communications and department partners to elevate Marquette's digital presence. Stelzer arrived in Milwaukee after serving as the Assistant Director of Creative Video at Mississippi State University, where he contributed to content creation and digital strategy for the Bulldogs' men's basketball program. Prior to Mississippi State, Stelzer worked under head coach Ben Jacobson at the University of Northern Iowa as the Coordinator of Creative Content for UNI Men's Basketball. During his time in Cedar Falls, he developed and executed the program's visual brand, produced season-long creative campaigns and provided on-site coverage for every game. He was also responsible for the team's annual intro video and played a key role in enhancing the Panthers' social media identity. A native of Dubuque, Iowa, Stelzer began his academic career at Kirkwood Community College from 2022–23 before

The 2026-27 campaign will mark the third for Devon Mulry with the Marquette men’s basketball program as Director, Video & Analytics. The Michigan native worked for two seasons (2019-21) at Texas under Shaka Smart as the director of player development. His duties included presentation of all team video sessions, advanced scouting and administration of the program’s video database. In 2024-25, the Golden Eagles posted their third-straight 20-win season and participated in the NCAA tournament four the fourth-straight year. On the court, Kam Jones developed into a Consensus All-America selection, marking the third-straight year a Marquette player captured the accolade. MU also posted a standout season in the classroom, highlighted by a 3.28 team grade-point-average and Stevie Mitchell was named BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a CSC First Team Academic All-American. The 2023-24 campaign was highlighted by the program’s 17th all-time appearance in the Sweet 16 and the team’s 56 victories (29-7, 27-10) were the most in school history in a two-year span. Back-to-back Consensus All-America selection Tyler Kolek, just the third ever at Marquette, highlighted the team’s individual recognition on the court. Off the court, the Golden Eagles collected another record-setting effort in the classroom as a team and both Oso Ighodaro (Second Team) and Stevie Mitchell (Third Team) were named CSC Academic All-Americans. After his departure from Texas, Mulry worked as a basketball analyst

Dr. Adrienne Ridgeway is in her 21st year overall with Marquette in 2025-26 and was promoted to Deputy Athletic Director, Student-Athlete Well-Being in May of 2025, serving as the department's lead internal administrator. Ridgeway oversees academics, sports medicine, sports performance, and mental health and wellness initiatives for Marquette's student-athletes. She is responsible for providing the strategic vision for the academic and student programs staff, which works with the group of over 300 student-athletes, and serves as the primary academic liaison to campus working specifically with the men's basketball team and women's and men's tennis teams. In addition to her academic responsibilities, Ridgeway serves as sport administrator to the Marquette men's and women's cross country and track teams and women's lacrosse programs and is a past Chair of the NCAA Research Committee. She was appointed the department's Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee (AIDA). Prior to Marquette, Ridgeway spent two years with the Milwaukee Public Schools as a Speech-Language Pathologist. She ran track for four years at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and received her bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology and master's degree in speech-language pathology while working as a graduate assistant to the athletics director. Ridgeway also holds a Master of Education in College Student Personnel Administration from Marquette and earned her doctorate in interdisciplinary leadership i

The 2026-27 season will mark the second for Jack Anderson as a program assistant with the Marquette University men’s basketball program. The Davie, Florida native will assist in the day-to-day operations of the program while completing his master’s degree in business administration. Anderson appeared in five games with Golden Eagles in 2024-25 after spending his first three years at NCAA Division II Keystone College in La Plume, Penn. He started all of his 76 career appearances and finished with 1,510 career points. He graduated in May of 2025 from Marquette with a degree in business.

The 2025-26 season will mark the eighth at Marquette for Kenny Wilka, but his second as Assistant Athletic Director/Sports Medicine after being promoted in the summer of 2024. In addition, Kenny is the National Athletic Trainers' Association District 11 treasurer 2022-present. During the 2023-24 season, Wilka was promoted to Senior Associate Athletic Trainer after joining the university as an associate athletic trainer in 2018. Wilka oversees the sports medicine staff and serves as the primary athletic trainer with the men's basketball and men's golf teams. Prior to his arrival, Wilka had served as the Director of Sports Medicine at UW-Parkside since July of 2009. Along with his duties as the Director of Sports Medicine, Wilka is an assistant clinical professor at UW-Parkside and a clinical instructor at Marquette University, Carroll University, and UW-Milwaukee. Wilka is a member of the Wisconsin Athletic Trainer's Association, serving as the Southeast Regional Representative from 2007-12. He served as President-Elect from 2012-14 and served as President from 2014-16. Prior to UW-Parkside, Wilka was the Director of Sports Medicine at Cedarburg Physical Therapy from 2004-09. During that time, he assisted in the rehabilitation of athletes and the general population while also serving as the head athletic trainer for Cedarburg High School. While at Cedarburg Physical Therapy, he also served as an adjunct professor at Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin. Wilka received a b

The 2026-27 campaign will mark the sixth for Neill Berry as an assistant coach with the Marquette University men’s basketball program. Berry arrived in Milwaukee after spending three seasons (2018-21) as an assistant coach under Smart at Texas. Berry owns nearly 20 years of experience at the NCAA Division I level, including 15 as an assistant coach. In 2024-25, the Golden Eagles posted their third-straight 20-win season and participated in the NCAA tournament four the fourth-straight year. On the court, Kam Jones developed into a Consensus All-America selection, marking the third-straight year a Marquette player captured the accolade. MU also posted a standout season in the classroom, highlighted by a 3.28 team grade-point-average and Stevie Mitchell was named BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a CSC First Team Academic All-American. The 2023-24 campaign was highlighted by the program’s 17th all-time appearance in the Sweet 16 and the team’s 56 victories (29-7, 27-10) were the most in school history in a two-year span. Back-to-back Consensus All-America selection Tyler Kolek, just the third ever at Marquette, highlighted the team’s individual recognition on the court. Off the court, the Golden Eagles collected another record-setting effort in the classroom as a team and both Oso Ighodaro (Second Team) and Stevie Mitchell (Third Team) were named CSC Academic All-Americans. Berry helped guide Marquette to a historic level of success in 2022-23, highlighted by the program’

The 2025-26 Marquette men's basketball campaign will mark the first for Orianna Shillow as Director of Operations, Men's Basketball. Shillow arrives in Milwaukee after working the past three seasons with the women's basketball program at Florida Atlantic as director of basketball operations. In her role at FAU, Shillow was responsible for travel and practices, along with liaison duties between the basketball office and departments around athletics. Shillow arrived in Boca Raton after spending 2021-22 as a basketball operations assistant for the BIG EAST Conference. During her tenure there, she assisted with the conference schedule, including tracking television broadcast information and statistics. She was also in charge of coordinating in-game entertainment, marketing and promotions for the men's and women's conference tournaments. Prior to her time at the BIG EAST, Shillow served as a team ambassador for the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. She was a liaison between the NCAA and 14 programs to help with daily logistics as well as operational tasks. Shillow was a four-year member of the North Texas women's basketball team from 2015-19. She graduated from North Texas with a bachelor's degree in business administration and business analytics and received her master's in sport commerce from Memphis in 2021. She was a recipient of the John McLendon Postgraduate Scholarship in 2020.

The 2025-26 campaign will mark the first for Tabby Kangas with the Marquette University men's basketball team as coordinator of operations. Kangas joined first-year women's basketball head coach Loree Payne at Santa Clara in March of 2025 after serving on Payne's staff at Northern Arizona for two seasons (2023-25). In Flagstaff, Kangas was the primary contact and liaison between the women's basketball team and other departments on campus including marketing, facilities, sports information, tickets, administration, the University, vendors, and the community. She also lead the training and oversight of women's basketball's graduate assistants, student managers, and the practice squad. Prior to joining the Lumberjacks, she spent four seasons working with Oregon State's women's basketball program as a head student manager. She assisted with the needs of student athletes and staff and led the training and oversight of student managers. Kangas documented statistics for all 13 student-athletes, assisted with film and the shot clock during practices, helped with recruitment, and kept the basketball facilities clean and safe for the student-athletes. Kangas graduated from Oregon State in March of 2022 with her bachelor's in kinesiology, a minor in chemistry, pre-medicine option, and a medical humanities certificate. In December of 2024, she graduated from Northern Arizona with her masters in organizational leadership.

Todd Smith is in his 20th year at Marquette. He was promoted to Assistant Athletics Director, Applied Sports Science and Performance in August of 2022. He is responsible for the total development of sport-specific strength and conditioning for the Marquette athletic department. In 2011, Smith was named a Master Strength & Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa). This honor is the highest given in the strength and conditioning coaching profession. Smith arrived at Marquette after spending six years as the Director of Athletic Performance for the University of the Pacific. At Pacific, he oversaw strength and conditioning for all 16 NCAA Division I sports. Prior to Pacific, he was the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at San Jose State for one season. He started his post-graduate career at Pacific, where he served as the Assistant Director of Athletic Performance for two years. Smith also worked at five NFL training camps with the 49ers and two for the NHL's Nashville Predators. He served two years as the Graduate Assistant for Strength and Conditioning at the University of North Dakota. Smith graduated from Miami University with a BA in Exercise Science in 1995. Smith married the former Maggie Lamb, who also works as a sports performance coach at Marquette, in 2005 and the couple has two sons, Cooper and Grady.

The 2026-27 Marquette University men’s basketball season will be the sixth for Tyler McDevitt, his fifth as Director of Program Development, Men's Basketball...