Shane Southwell begins his third season as Associate Head Coach of the NIU men’s basketball program in 2024-25. Southwell came to NIU following two seasons as an assistant coach at Kansas State.
In 2023-24, Southwell helped NIU to its best start since 2015-16 as the Huskies opened 5-1 with victories over Sun Belt regular season champion Appalachian State and NIU’s first win over DePaul since 2005. The Huskies recorded the fourth-most three-points field goals in school history (227) while playing the toughest schedule in the Mid-American Conference.
David Coit became just the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points in just two seasons (joining Jim Bradley, Kenny Battle and Xavier Silas) as he was named to the All-MAC Third Team and the NABC All-District Second Team. Will Lovings-Watts was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team while NIU had two Academic All-MAC honorees, Oluwasegun Durosinmi and Harvin Ibarguen, marking the first time the program has had multiple Academic All-MAC recipients since the 1999-2000 season.
During his first season in DeKalb, Southwell helped the Huskies improve to 13 victories and an appearance in the MAC Tournament. NIU recorded its longest road winning streak since the 2002-03 season and also claimed a victory over MAC champion Kent State, snapping the nation’s third-longest win streak. The Huskies finished league play second in the MAC in field goal percentage, third in three-point percentage, third in field goal defense, third in three-point defense and third in assists.
NIU had a pair of All-MAC honorees for the first time since 2003-04 as David Coit was named to the All-MAC Third Team and Kaleb Thornton claimed All-MAC Honorable Mention recognition. Coit was also named to the NABC All-District Second Team.
In 2021-22, Southwell helped mentor three All-Big 12 honorees, including Nijel Pack, who was named to the all-conference first team and selected as the league's Most Improved Player.
When Southwell joined the Kansas State staff as an assistant in 2020-21, it was his second stint on the Wildcat staff, he was previously a graduate assistant for two years from 2017-19. During that time, Kansas State made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Elite Eight during the 2017-18 season while winning 25 games. The following season, the Wildcats were the regular season champions of the Big 12, again posting 25 victories, including a 14-4 league mark.
Southwell then joined the staff at Robert Morris as an assistant coach in 2019-20, where he helped the Colonials to a 20-win season. Robert Morris won both the regular season and tournament titles in the Northeast Conference, claiming the conference tournament crown before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season. Southwell coached a pair of All-NEC honorees, Josh Williams and A.J. Bramah, as well as conference tournament MVP Dante Treacy.
Prior to his move to Robert Morris, Southwell was part of the USA Basketball staff for the 2019 U19 World Cup, helping Team USA win a gold medal. Southwell served as video coordinator on the staff of head coach Bruce Weber's team that posted a perfect 7-0 record.
As a player, the Harlem, N.Y., native spent four seasons playing for Weber at Kansas State (2010-14), helping the Wildcats earn four NCAA Tournament bids as well as the program's first Big 12 regular season crown in 2012-13. Southwell's 92 wins as a player is tied for the ninth-most in Kansas State history and he is one of just eight Wildcats to reach the NCAA Tournament in all four seasons as a player.
A 2013 honorable mention All-Big 12 selection, Southwell appeared in 126 career games at Kansas State, making 68 starts. Following his collegiate career, Southwell played three seasons professionally around the world, including Mexico, Australia and Switzerland.
Southwell earned a bachelor's degree from Kansas State in communications studies in 2014 and a master's in college student personnel and intercollegiate athletics from Kansas State in 2019.
