University of North Carolina at Charlotte Men's Basketball

Aaron Fearne was named Charlotte’s 14th head coach on Feb. 12, 2024. The Cairns, Queensland, Australia native was elevated to full-time after a standout 2023-24 season leading the 49ers from an interim role. He was named a finalist for the 2024 Joe B. Hall Coach of the Year award, which is given to the top rookie, first-year head coach in Division I, after leading Charlotte to a 19-12 overall record, highlighted by a 13-5 mark in conference play for the program’s first top-three league finish since 2006. Fearne led the 49ers to tying a pair of program records in his inaugural season, thanks to 13 conference victories and an equal number of wins at Halton Arena, the most since the 2019-20 season. Charlotte also recorded its first-ever eight-game conference winning streak in program history, the first win over a ranked opponent at home since 2010, and the first overall since 2013 when it upended No. 17 Florida Atlantic on Jan. 6, 2024. Before being named interim head coach on June 15, 2023, Fearne served as an assistant with the 49ers for five years, including a year as the associate head coach during the 2022-23 season. He played a pivotal role in attracting three of Conference USA’s top-ranked recruiting classes and helping Charlotte in 2023 to its most wins since 2000-01 (22). The campaign included the 49ers’ first appearance in the C-USA quarterfinals since 2015-16 and later the program’s first postseason tournament title with a College Basketball Invitational-winning run.

Brett Carey was announced as an assistant coach under head coach Aaron Fearne in June 2025. Carey spent the 2024-25 season at Campbell, serving as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator. Under his direction, the Fighting Camels led the nation in opponent 3-point field goal percentage (27.4%) and led the Coastal Athletic Association in scoring margin (+10.8), points allowed per game (61.6) and field goal percentage allowed (40%). He also helped develop two of the league’s top players — All-CAA forward Colby Duggan and CAA Defensive Player of the Year Nolan Dorsey. Carey joined Campbell in July 2024 after spending the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach and director of player development at Middle Tennessee State. At MTSU, he reunited with Nick McDevitt, his former coach and teammate at UNC Asheville. The Blue Raiders finished 14-19 overall and 7-9 in Conference USA play, with four players earning all-conference honors, highlighted by Jestin Porter’s second-team selection. Before his stint in Murfreesboro, Carey was associate head coach on Nate James’ inaugural staff at Austin Peay from 2021-23. He primarily coached the Govs’ post players and served as acting head coach for two games when James was sidelined due to COVID-19. Under Carey, Elijah Hutchins-Everett was named 2021 OVC Freshman of the Year, becoming the first freshman in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds and field goal percentage. APSU ranked fifth in the league in rebounding and offensive r

Byron Dinkins was elevated to special assistant to the head coach at Charlotte for the 2025-26 season, continuing to play a vital role in player development on and off the court. Dinkins has been with the 49ers since 2018, serving as director of player development. He focuses on the holistic development of student-athletes, including basketball skills, academics and life skills, while providing on-court training, mentoring and support. In recognition of his contributions to Charlotte basketball, Dinkins was inducted into the Charlotte Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023 as part of the program’s second class. Before joining Charlotte, Dinkins had a highly successful high school coaching career at Carmel Christian School and Northside Christian Academy from 2010-18. He compiled a 210-30 record with four state championships and eight state title game appearances, coaching 22 players who went on to play college basketball. Dinkins was named Charlotte Observer Boys Basketball Coach of the Decade in 2019. Over his last two seasons at Carmel Christian, he led the team to a 45-10 record and the 2018 NCSIAA 2A state championship. At Northside Christian, he guided teams to six Metrolina Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles, three NCISAA 2A state championships, and six championship game appearances. Dinkins played at Charlotte from 1985-89 and is one of eight players in school history to have his jersey retired. He scored 1,657 career points with 513 assists and 137 three

Daniel Blaze was promoted to assistant coach at Charlotte ahead of the 2025-26 season after two seasons on staff. He transitioned from director of scouting to a full-time assistant role, continuing to support recruiting, player development and opponent preparation. Blaze served as Charlotte’s director of scouting from 2023-25, overseeing all team video operations, including opponent scouting, film breakdown and internal content evaluation. He evaluated recruits, maintained the recruiting database and participated in on-court activities, including skill development, practice support and opponent preparation. He also helped manage graduate assistants and student managers while keeping team technology and programming up to date. Prior to joining Charlotte, Blaze held multiple coaching and administrative roles at Charlotte Christian School from 2019-23. He coached both varsity and junior varsity boys’ basketball teams and assisted in athletic facilities management. During that time, he also served as lead skills trainer for No Fails Basketball, running game-simulation development sessions for more than 15 athletes across NBA, WNBA, G-League, overseas, college, high school and middle school levels, and designing off-season workout plans and scheduling for individual development. Blaze also coached with Charlotte Skills Factory in 2021 and Pro Skills Basketball in 2019. Blaze began his career in higher education as a student success coach at Biola University from 2017-19, advising

John Kitoko was promoted to director of player personnel for Charlotte men’s basketball on October 3, 2024, after serving as a graduate assistant during the 2023-24 season. Prior to joining the 49ers’ staff, Kitoko, a former Charlotte student-athlete, was an assistant coach at Catawba College. He originally joined Catawba in August 2020 as a graduate assistant and was named director of player development in August 2021. He served in that role until being elevated to assistant coach for the 2022-23 season. In his lone season as an assistant, Kitoko helped guide the Indians to a 23-8 overall record, a regular-season title, and their ninth South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship en route to an NCAA Division II Tournament appearance. The team also set a school record with 15 conference wins. Kitoko previously served as head coach of Catawba’s junior varsity men’s basketball team. Kitoko also has experience as an assistant coach for nationally ranked Prolific Prep High School in 2022 and as associate head coach for Prolific Select. Kitoko played collegiately at Charlotte, joining the men’s basketball team in 2018. As a junior, he appeared in 20 games and logged 170 minutes for the 49ers. For the 2019-20 season, he transitioned to team manager, where he contributed to the scout team, assisted coaches with scouting reports, maintained equipment and facilities, and oversaw team meals. Kitoko earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Charlotte in 2020 and a master

Landon Smith was announced as Charlotte's director of operations by Head Coach Aaron Fearne in May 2025. He was charged with similar duties at Utah last season before coming to the 49ers. Smith joined the Runnin' Utes after graduating from Utah State in the spring of 2024. He joined his father, Craig, on Utah's staff after a summer leading the program's basketball camp logistics. It came after working as a pivotal member of the Formula Zero staff, where he served as the organization's camp liaison with NBA scouts. Formula Zero is an elite skills camp for high school, college, and NBA players created by nine-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard and Phil Beckner. He worked with scouts, regional and national media members, coaches, and athletes in the summers of 2023 and 2024 before joining Utah's staff. "We're thrilled to add a fast-rising mind like Landon to our staff," Fearne said. "He's been part of multiple operations and shown to have a bright future in basketball. We're excited to see the impact he can have on our day-to-day duties here."

Michael “Willy” Wilmot was promoted to assistant coach at Charlotte ahead of the 2025-26 season after two years as director of basketball operations and special assistant to the head coach. He originally joined the 49ers in September 2021 as director of scouting. As director of basketball operations from 2023-25, Wilmot managed team travel, budgets and all off-the-court logistics. He helped lead Charlotte to a 19-12 record and a third-place finish in the American Conference in 2023-24, exceeding preseason expectations after the program was picked 13th in the poll. Wilmot contributed to a record-tying 13 conference wins, 13 home victories, an eight-game American Conference win streak, and the 49ers’ first home win over a ranked opponent since 2010. From 2021-23, Wilmot served as director of scouting, playing an integral role on the staff that led Charlotte to 22 wins and its first-ever postseason tournament title at the 2023 College Basketball Invitational. He also helped the 49ers post a 17-win season in 2021-22, including 10 conference victories and the program’s best road record in more than a decade. Before joining Charlotte, Wilmot was a graduate assistant at Florida State from 2019-21. He developed scouting reports, managed film sessions, and served as interim video coordinator during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season. Wilmot supported on-campus recruiting and player development under Leonard Hamilton and was part of the 2020 ACC regular-season championship team and the

Patrick Lewis joined the Charlotte staff as the Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance in August 2023 and the 2024-25 season will be Lewis' second a...

Tyler Fearne was named a graduate assistant under head coach Aaron Fearne ahead of the 2025-26 season. Fearne transitioned into a coaching role after four years as a member of the Charlotte men’s basketball program. He appeared in multiple seasons for the 49ers and was part of the team’s 2023 College Basketball Invitational championship run. During his playing career, Fearne saw action in eight games as a redshirt junior in 2024-25, scoring two points apiece against ETSU and Tulane while connecting on two of his three field-goal attempts. He previously appeared in four games during the 2022-23 campaign before a midseason knee injury ended his year, recording his first career basket on a 3-pointer against Monmouth. A Concord, North Carolina native, Fearne is a graduate of Concord Academy, where he played his prep basketball before joining the 49ers as a walk-on in 2021.