Donovan Kates is in his first year as assistant coach for the Owls, after being hired in June of 2023.
Kates comes to the Black and Gold from Louisiana, where he helped the Ragin' Cajuns make their first NCAA appearance in nine years after winning the Sun Belt Championship. Prior to that, Kates spent four years in Tuscaloosa as the special assistant to the head coach, director of men's basketball video services, and two years as a graduate assistant manager (2018-20).
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He also was the boy's head prep coach at Combine Academy (Charlotte, N.C.) in 2017-18. Kates was a three-year starter at Manhattan (2011-15) and led the Jaspers to back-to-back MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances (2013-14, 2014-15). He received his bachelor's degree in communications from Manhattan in 2015, and a master's degree in sport business administration from Alabama in 2019.
