At the start of the week, former Kansas State men’s basketball player and graduate assistant coach Shane Southwell received great news from Northwestern Wildcats in the Big 10.
Southwell became the final piece of Northwestern head coach Chris Collins’ coaching staff.
You could say for Southwell that once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.
“Shane brings great experience as a former player at Kansas State, under both Frank Martin and Bruce Weber, where he played a key role in a Big 12 Championship,” Collins said on the Northwestern athletic website. “Now he has transitioned into the coaching ranks, where he has worked with and learned under some outstanding coaches, both at the college and USA basketball levels. Shane’s strong ability to assist in player development and game planning, as well as his energy on the recruiting trail, will make a huge impact in our program.”
Southwell comes to Northwestern after spending his last two seasons as associate head coach at Northern Illinois.
His time at K-State is where Southwell picked up a wealth of basketball knowledge as a player and a young assistant coach.
As a player at Kansas State, Southwell played four seasons, earning four NCAA Tournament bids as well as the program’s first Big 12 regular season crown in 2012-13. He is one of just eight Wildcats to reach the NCAA Tournament in all four seasons as a player.
During his two seasons as graduate assistant, Southwell was part of a coaching staff that 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.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the Northwestern family alongside Coach Collins and his staff,” Southwell said. “A program built on the standard of excellence both on and off the court, Coach Collins has created an environment of success that has proven to thrive in the competitive landscape of the Big Ten Conference, and I’m eager to get started. There’s something special happening here in Evanston and I’m more than ready to start building with this group.”
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.
David Boyce is a contributing writer to K-State On SI. He can be reached at davidboyce95@gmail.com.
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