Chicago State head men's basketball coach Lance Irvin announced today the hiring of Tommy Strine as an assistant coach.
"We're fortunate to have Tommy Strine join our staff," Irvin said. "He is one of the young rising stars in college basketball. He is a good coach but a better human being. One thing I like about Tommy, after I began talking to him, is his work ethic. The more coaches I called about him the more stories I heard about his ability to do the little things well. He has a ton of basketball knowledge that will allow our players to get better on and off the basketball court."
Strine comes to CSU from Lamar University where he served as the director of operations for the Cardinals who posted 17 wins in 2019 including a return to the conference tournament for the fourth-straight year. Following the season, Strine was named to the Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team, a group which represents 30 of the most outstanding men's college basketball coaches (from all collegiate levels) under the age of 30.
He is an active Member of Rising Coaches where he hosts the Think Tank, which has helped mentor young coaches while connecting them with coaches at the pro and college levels. Strine also serves as an inaugural member of Coaches 4 Change which provides a platform to engage, educate, empower and evolve young athletes on social injustice, systematic racism and the power of voting.
Prior to his lone season at Lamar, Strine served as the director of basketball operations at Cleveland State (2018) following three seasons working in the same capacity at American University (2015-18) where he helped the Eagles advance to the semifinals of the 2016 Patriot League Tournament. During his stint at AU he had the opportunity to help coach Patriot League Rookie of the Year Delante Jones (2016) and two Patriot All-Rookie Team members Mark Gasperini and Sa'eed Nelson (2017).
Strine's coaching career began in 2010 at the club level before taking an assistant's position at Marion (Ind.) High School. He spent one season at MHS (2013) before taking an assistant coaching position at Concordia University – Ann Arbor (2014). In that same year, Strine also served as a tryout instructor for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA's developmental league. Following his stint in Michigan, Strine served as video coordinator at the University of Richmond for one season (2014-15) for a 21-win Spiders squad which finished fourth in the Atlantic Ten and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) as a No. 1 seed.
Strine earned his bachelor's degree from Indiana University Purdue University-Fort Wayne in 2014 and has completed work toward his master's degree. Strine received his degree after a playing career at NCAA Division III Anderson (IN) University where he helped the Ravens advance to the 2010 NCAA Championships which also marked the first time in program history that Anderson won the Heartland Conference Championship, setting school records for wins and conference wins.
