NC State to hire Brett Nelson as assistant coach
NC State’s men’s basketball coaching staff appears to be complete. The Wolfpack is set to hire UMass assistant coach Brett Nelson, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported Wednesday night.
Nelson brings a vast array of experience to the Wolfpack coaching staff, coaching at both mid-majors and at the Power Conference level.
Nelson spent the past year with the Minutemen, where he assisted in guiding the team to a 20-11 record (11-7 Atlantic 10). Before he made the trek to Amherst, Mass., Nelson was the head coach at Holy Cross for four seasons.
During his time at the helm of the Crusaders, Nelson built the program from three wins in his first campaign to 10 wins by the 2022-23 season. He was not brought back to Holy Cross after compiling a 27-84 record (21-49 Patriot League) in four seasons.
The St. Albans, W.Va., native was on staff at Marquette for six seasons, including two as the Golden Eagles’ associate head coach in 2018 and 2019. He helped guide Marquette to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, while also making the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament as well.
Before he arrived at Marquette, Nelson was an assistant at Ball State, Drake, Arkansas and Marshall. He was key in the Thundering Herd’s 24-10 season during the 2009-10 campaign.
In addition to Nelson’s on-court coaching roles, he was also the director of basketball operations at VCU for two seasons and at Colorado State for a pair of seasons prior to that.
Nelson was also a standout collegiate basketball player. He was a three-year starter at Florida and went to the NCAA Tournament four times as a player. By the time Nelson left Gainesville, Fla., he held the Gator records for three-pointers made (274) and attempted (689), and was second in steals (198) and 14th in points scored (1,417). Nelson was also a 1999 McDonald’s All- American coming out of high school.
