Abilene Christian University Men's Basketball

Ted Crass enters his fourth season in this stint, and his eighth overall, as an assistant coach at ACU for the 2025-26 season. Crass returned to Abilene in the spring of 2022 after two successful years as a junior college head coach. Crass worked as an assistant on the Wildcats' staff from 2016-2020 before taking over the program at Otero College (Kan.). During his two seasons, his teams posted a 39-12 overall record and back-to-back regular season Region IX South Champions. In his first year at Otero College, the Rattlers finished the season with the most wins in the region (15-5) and were regular season conference co-champions (9-3). The team had 2 All-Conference players and 1 Academic All-American. Five different players from that team went on to 4-years schools on Full Scholarships.  In his second season at Otero, the Rattlers won an outright regular season Region IX Title,  were ranked in the national top 25 polls and reached the Regional Championship game before being upset on a buzzer beater.  That team had an honorable mention NJCAA All-American, two All-Conference players (Including former Wildcat player Hunter Jack Madden), and six players moved on to 4-year schools on full scholarship.  During his first stint at Abilene Christian, Crass helped lead the Wildcats to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Southland Tournament Championship and the most wins in school history (27) in his third season as an assistant coach with the program.  Crass joined ACU in April 2016 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Since beginning at ACU, seven Wildcats have been awarded All-Southland Conference, including the  2018-19 male student-athlete of the year. During this span, six Wildcats earned their degrees and one finished with a Master's degree.  During his first season the Wildcats won their first Division I true road game, had a Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, and their win percentage increased for the third-straight year.  In his second season, 2017-18, the Wildcats had their first winning season in the Division I Era (16-15). This mark earned a berth in the collegeinsider.com (CIT) Tournament, the program’s first national postseason tournament at the NCAA Division I level, and its first national tournament appearance of any kind since the reaching the 1998-99 NCAA Division II national tournament. Crass also oversaw team community service and academics. During the academic year the team posted a 3.0 cumulative GPA, the program’s highest cumulative mark since 2013-14. Before arriving to Abilene, Crass spent eight seasons as a part of the Arkansas-Little Rock staff where he worked under former head coaches Steve Shields and Chris Beard. He was the Director of Player Development in 2015-16 under Beard, helping the Trojans finish 30-5, win the Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships and reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. During his time at UALR, 13 of 13 Seniors graduated and 7 players earned All-Sun Belt Conference awards.  Crass was an assistant coach for the Trojans during the 2014-15 season. He assisted with all aspects of the program, including recruiting, evaluating, scouting and budget preparation.  Crass spent the 2013-14 season as the program’s Director of Basketball Operations following five years as a player and student manager for the Trojans. Crass first joined the Trojans’ basketball staff as a student manager prior to the start of the 2008-09 season, serving three-plus years in that role before joining the roster midseason in 2011-12. He suited up as a player for the first time at Middle Tennessee on Feb. 11, 2012, and saw the first game action of his career against Florida International just five days later. During the 2012-13 season Crass was the team captain and led the youngest team in NCAA Division I to a winning record.  A native of Little Rock, Crass graduated from Little Rock Central HS in 2008. He graduated from Arkansas-Little Rock in May 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications and later obtained a Master’s Degree in Educational Counseling from UALR. 

Cameron Henderson enters his third season as an ACU men's basketball assistant coach in 2025-26. He joined the Wildcats' staff in May 2023. Henderson brings a wealth of experience with previous assistant coaching stops at Connors State College (3 years), Central Oklahoma (5 years), and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2 years). Henderson started his coaching career in 2012 at Connors State, his alma mater.  The Cowboys from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) went 24-9 in 2012-13, followed by a 23-7 campaign and conference championship in 2013-14. Connors State continued to climb in 2014-15 with a 32-2 record, winning conference and regional titles.Connors State made the NJCAA Tournament twice in Henderson's three seasons, and reached the Elite Eight in 2015. Henderson recruited the 2014 and 2015 Region II MVP award winners, and 11 players signed with Division I schools during his tenure at Connors.  Henderson then moved to Division II Central Oklahoma where he served as an assistant coach from 2015-2020. The Bronchos won 75 games over the five years, including a 20-10 campaign and an appearance in the conference tournament semifinal in 2017-18. UCO earned a victory in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament in three consecutive years. Henderson worked as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. The Golden Lions increased their win total from just four games in each of the previous two seasons to seven in 2021-22, and ten in 2022-23. A three-time All-State player at Hall High School in Little Rock, Ark., Henderson started his college career at Connors State in 2007. He was a two-time All-Bi-State Conference and All-Region II selection for the Cowboys before signing with Montana State. Henderson was a two-year letterman for the Bobcats and then stayed on as an assistant student coach. He returned to Connors State as an assistant coach in 2012.  Henderson and his wife, Kiesha, have two children: Jaylin and Mirasia.

Doug Karleskint enters his third season as an ACU assistant men's basketball coach for the 2025-26 season. Karleskint joined ACU in April 2023 following a nine-year head coaching stint at Central Missouri. The Mules won 20 or more games three times in seven years during that span. His 25 wins in 2014-15 are the most ever for a first-year head coach in program history as the Mules advanced to the second round of the NCAA Regional Championship. Karleskint has also led the Mules to an MIAA Championship game and four MIAA Tournament appearances.  In 2017-18, Central Missouri won 20 games for the fifth time in six seasons and third with Karleskint on the bench. The Mules went 20-10 and 11-8 in the MIAA to place fifth in the league standings. UCM won their opening round game and went 1-1 in the MIAA Tournament. The Mules once again had three All-MIAA in Spencer Reaves, Jakob Lowrance and DJ Richardson. In 2016-17, the Mules went 21-9 and made it to their first MIAA Championship game under Karleskint. UCM went 13-6 in MIAA action to finish second in the regular season standings as well as a runner-up finish in the MIAA Tournament. Karleskint coached three players to All-MIAA accolades, including second team honors for junior guard Spencer Reaves, who was also named a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American. In 2015-16, the Mules got off to a fast start, racing out to a 7-0 record and reaching as high as No. 12 in the national rankings. In the summer of 2016, Karleskint was selected to coach the U.S. Division II Men’s Basketball Team on a tour of Brazil. The D2 All-Star team included a pair of his own players in Reaves and Jakob Lowrance. In his first season in Warrensburg, Karleskint led the Mules to a 25-7 record, a runner-up finish in the MIAA, and the team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He became the fourth Mules’ head coach to win 20 or more games in his first season. He coached five players to All-MIAA honors, including first team accolades for senior forward Brennen Hughes, who was also named Second Team NABC All-District, and two All-MIAA Defensive Team awards. Karleskint arrived at UCM after spending the previous five seasons at Great American Conference member Arkansas Tech, including the last four as head coach of the Wonder Boys. Karleskint compiled a 90-34 record during his time as the head coach at Arkansas Tech. His Wonder Boy teams captured four straight conference championships and made four straight appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2012. His first team at ATU in 2010-11 went 24-6 overall and 13-1 to capture the Gulf South Conference West Championship. He was named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year. Karleskint’s 2011-12 Wonder Boys squad went 26-6, including 13-3 in the inaugural season of the Great American Conference. He won the league’s first Coach of the Year award. The 2012-13 squad again captured the Great American Conference regular season title, going 13-7 in league play and 18-12 overall and qualifying for the NCAA-II Central Regional. In his final season at Arkansas Tech, Karleskint guided the Wonder Boys to a 21-10 overall mark and another GAC regular season title with a 15-4 conference record. ATU advanced to the NCAA-II Central Regional, where they fell to Central Missouri in the opening round. He was once again awarded Coach of the Year honors by the Great American Conference. Karleskint coached 11 all-conference performers during his tenure at Arkansas Tech, including one Great American Conference (GAC) Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and an All-American. Prior to his time as head coach, Karleskint served as the top assistant for the Wonder Boys in 2009-10 when the team went 30-2, won the Gulf South Conference title and finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation. Before ATU, he served two seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks posted a 50-14 record in those two years and won two Southland Conference Regular Season Crowns. They advanced to the NIT in 2007-08 and the NCAA Tournament in 2008-09 after winning the Southland Conference tournament title. Karleskint was a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State from 2005-07 and helped the Bearcats to a 46-17 record, an MIAA championship and two NCAA Tournament appearances. The Fort Scott, Kan., native earned his bachelor’s degree from Mid-America Nazarene University in 2003. He and his wife, Kyla, have two sons, Jadin and Jackson.

Danny Young was hired by Abilene Christian in July 2025 and enters his first season as an assistant men's basketball coach. Young comes to ACU from Samford, where he spent the past three seasons as an assistant. During that time, the Bulldogs compiled a 72-28 record, won back-to-back Southern Conference (SoCon) regular season championships, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2024 where they nearly upset No. 4 Kansas in the first round. It was Samford's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2000 and just the third in program history. The Bulldogs finished the 2023-24 season with a 29-6 record, which set a new school record for most wins in a season. In 2025, Samford played in the NIT for the first time. Before his three seasons at Samford, Young was the head coach at Division II member University of Montevallo (Ala.) from 2003-2022. Young guided the Falcons to a 372-209 mark in his 19 years, including 11 trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament, reaching eight Sweet 16s, and three Elite 8s. In 2011-12, Montevallo played in the national championship game. Young is the winningest coach in Falcons' history, a five-time conference Coach of the Year, a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches Region Coach of the Year, and the Gulf South Conference East Division Coach of the Decade (2011-19). His turnaround of Montevallo started immediately. The Falcons had just one returning player for the 2003-04 season but won 19 more games than the previous year's team which was the biggest win-differential in program history. Montevallo won their first Gulf South Conference championship and made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division II Tournament. From 2001-03, Young was the head coach and athletic director at Salem International (West Va.), now named Salem University, where the Tigers went 51-11 and were ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation. SIU earned the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and went to the NCAA East Regional in 2002-03. His overall, 21-year head coaching record is 410-204. Young served as an assistant coach at SIU for five seasons before being promoted. He also worked as an assistant at Wheeling Jesuit (1994-96), Nebraska-Omaha (1993-94), and Grand Canyon (1990-93). In his coaching tenure, Young has coached 11 All-Americans and seven Conference Player of the Year selections. Former UM standout Marcus Kennedy became the first player in Gulf South Conference history to be named Division Player of the Year twice in a four-year career under Young.  A native of Duncan, Arizona, and standout athlete in high school, Young earned Honorable Mention All-American honors and was also nominated to the McDonald's All-American Basketball Team. In college, Young was coached by former NBA player, Paul Westphal. He later earned his bachelor's degree in Physical Education from Grand Canyon in 1990. Young and his wife, Sabrina, have three children: Caleb, Sophia and Cole.