Richie Riley, who spent the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons working under Brad Brownell in the ACC as an assistant at Clemson, was named head men’s basketball coach at Nicholls State University on April 26, 2016.
The 33-year-old became the 11th head coach in Colonel men's basketball history. In his first season at the helm, Riley narrowly missed a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament, posting a 14-17 overall record.
As a member of the Tigers coaching staff, Riley helped Clemson to 10 ACC wins for just the fifth time in program history. In his first season with the program, the Tigers won eight ACC games, including one at Sweet 16 participant NC State. He also helped Clemson to a pair of wins over NCAA Tournament teams from the SEC, including a top-25 Arkansas squad. While working with the Tigers, Riley recruited and signed ESPN 4-star top-100 prospect, Ty Hudson. Riley also signed the national No. 2 junior college prospect, Legend Robertin. Riley was hired by Clemson to replace current College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant.
Prior to his work with the Tigers, Riley was an assistant for Jerod Haase at UAB for two seasons. Riley helped the Blazers to a 63-59 win over No. 16 North Carolina. He recruited and signed a top-25 recruiting class that included in-state Alabama prospects William Lee, Lewis Sullivan and Jarvis Calhoun. Riley recruited and signed three All-Conference USA players and the Conference USA 6th Man of the Year. He recruited and signed the core of UAB’s 2015 NCAA Tournament team that advanced to the third round. In recognition of his efforts, Riley was selected to attend the prestigious Villa 7 Conference for Rising Assistants.
He served at his alma mater under Jeff Neubaurer as an assistant at Eastern Kentucky during the 2011-12 season. He recruited and signed the core of the Colonels’ 2014 NCAA Tournament team. The recruiting class included Corey Walden, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, 2014 OVC Tournament MVP and 2014-15 All-OVC First Team selection.
Riley returned to Richmond after two years with Cliff Ellis at Coastal Carolina. He helped the Chanticleers to back-to-back regular season championships and NIT appearances. The program set a school record with 28 wins and finished as the runner-up at the Big South Tournament Championships in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. Coastal Carolina put together a 22-game winning streak during Riley’s time with the program.
A native of London, Ky., Riley played during the 2001-02 season at Eastern Kentucky under Travis Ford. He started his coaching career and spent two seasons with Happy Osborne at Georgetown College from 2003-05. After a year at Hawaii-Pacific, Riley worked under Kenny Wells from 2006-09 at Pikeville College where he earned the honor of ‘Top NAIA Assistant’ from RecruitingRumors.com.
Riley and his wife Jess have two sons, Reese and Rock.
