MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College head men's basketball coach
Jon VanderWal announced the addition of former Pioneer,
Brennan McKean (Jeromesville, Ohio/Northwestern), to his coaching staff. McKean replaces
Stephen Draper, who recently accepted the top assistant coaching position at Albion College.
"We are very excited to bring Brennan back as a member of our coaching staff," VanderWal said. "As a player in our program for five years, he was a coach on the floor and an extension of our coaching staff/ Brennan exemplified everything a coach looks for in a captain and leader during his playing career."
McKean returns to his alma mater after spending the 2016-17 season as an assistant coach at Defiance College. In addition to his on court responsibilities, McKean served as the recruiting coordinator and the strength coach for the Yellow Jackets.
"Brennan gained valuable coaching experience this past year at Defiance and his work ethic, high basketball IQ and familiarity with our program make him the perfect candidate for our position," VanderWal said. "Brennan has a very bright future in the coaching profession and we are elated to have him back in our program."
When a knee injury forced him to miss the 2014-15 season, McKean remained a key component of the Navy Blue and White program serving as a student assistant coach for the Pioneers. He assisted with practice preparation and game film editing.
A four-year letter winner for the Pioneers, McKean scored over 750 points in his playing career. In his five years at Marietta, four as a player and one as a student assistant coach, he was a part of three Ohio Athletic Conference championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2015 Elite Eight.
McKean graduated from Marietta College in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Finance and Management. He is currently pursuing a Master's in Business Administration.
Marietta opens the 2017-18 season with the inaugural Great Lakes Invitational November 17-18 in Ban Johnson Arena. Seven nationally prominent teams will join the Pioneers for the two-day event. Marietta will face Hope College on Friday at 8:00 p.m. and 2016 National Champion the University of St. Thomas on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
