Aurora University Men's Basketball

Steve Christiansen was named the 29th Head Coach of the Aurora University men's basketball program in the spring of 2022. Christiansen comes to AU with a championship pedigree. He spent the 2021-2022 season as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois University but prior to his time at the Division I level, Christiansen spent 17 seasons as the head coach at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois, where he amassed over 400 victories. During his time at Triton, Christiansen guided the Trojans to 10 N4C Conference Championships and six Region IV crowns as well as the 2018 NJCAA Division II National Championship.  After winning the national title in 2018, Christiansen was named to the NJCAA Division II National Championship Coach of the Tournament, NABC Junior College Coach of the Year and Spalding NJCAA Coach of the Year. In addition, Christiansen was a five-time District Three Coach of the Year, Region IV Coach of the Year and IBCA Junior College Coach of the Year, earning each of those honors in 2006, 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2019.  AURORA UNIVERSITY COACHING RECORD YEAR OVERALL CONFERENCE (Place) 2022-2023 12-12 7-10 (8th) 2023-2024 11-15 8-10 (8th) 2024-2025 11-15 9-9 (7th) 2025-2026 23-6 15-3 (3rd) 4 Years 57-48 (.543) 39-32 (.549)  

Brandon Smith joined the Aurora University men's basketball program as an assistant coach prior to the 2023-2024 season.  Smith comes to AU from Glenville State College were he spent four seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach. Prior to his time at Glenville, Smith spent one season as an assistant coach at Fairmont State University. A 2018 graduate of West Liberty University, Smith played four seasons as a guard, winning four conference championships, scoring 700 points and playing in two final fours including one national runner-up finish.