Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Men's Basketball

Chris Bess will be entering his second season with the Huskies after being named as the men's basketball coach by Dr. Michael McFarland on May 16, 2022. Bess picked up his first win as the team's head coach at Kutztown University on Jan. 25, 2023. Under the guidance of Bess, the Huskies erased a 17-point comeback to defeat the Golden Bears 86-78.   Bess joins Bloomsburg after tremendous success with the men's and women's basketball programs at fellow Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference institution (PSAC), Edinboro University. A 2010 graduate of Edinboro, Bess has worked with both basketball teams and, since the 2018-19 season, has served as an assistant coach for the women's program. The Fighting Scots went 51-32 overall and 41-24 in PSAC action. Edinboro went to three-straight PSAC Tournaments and went to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19.   Bess and head coach Callie Wheeler lead Edinboro to a 20-9 record in their first season together, the ninth straight season with 20-or-more wins, and a tenth straight berth in the PSAC, a second consecutive season in the NCAA Division II Tournament.   Bess was an assistant with the men's team from 2013 to 2018 and helped the Fighting Scots to three PSAC tournaments. In his final season with the men's program, Edinboro finished with an 18-11 record and came in fourth in the PSAC West after being picked to finish eighth in the coaches' preseason poll. The 18 wins were the most since the 2012-13 squad also won 18 games. Edinboro defeated Pitt-Johnstown and top-seeded Indiana (Pa.) to reach the PSAC semifinals for the first time since 2007-08. In the semifinals, the Fighting Scots fell to the eventual PSAC champion East Stroudsburg.   Bess returned to Edinboro after a three-year stint at Shaker Heights High School from August 2010 to 2013. Shaker Heights won a pair of league titles, capturing the Lake Erie League championship in 2012 and the 2013 Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division. In addition, the Raiders won three straight OHSAA Division I sectional championships and two consecutive district crowns. Bess played football and basketball at Edinboro during his academic career. Recruited initially to Edinboro to play football as a defensive end and tight end, Bess walked on to the basketball team and helped the Fighting Scots to 73 wins in his 101 games on the hardwood. Bess scored 517 points and pulled down 285 rebounds while earning four letters. He served as a captain on the 2009-10 team.   BU Athletics welcomes Bess and his wife Alisha and son Aiden to Bloomsburg.

Isaiah Smiley was named the assistant men's basketball coach in September of 2022 and will enter his second season with Bloomsburg in 2023-24.  Smiley joins the Huskies' program after serving as the assistant men's basketball coach at Penn State University's Shenango Campus. During his one season Shenango, Smiley assisted in the development of one All-Conference and one academic All-American in addition to his day-to-day responsibilities as an assistant coach. Prior to coaching at Shenango, Smiley was a student-assistant coach for the women's basketball team at Edinboro University. Smiley coached alongside Bloomsburg's current head coach Chris Bess, who was an assistant coach for the Fighting Scots from 2018 to 2022. Before joining the women's team in 2018, Smiley also served as a special assistant to the coaching staff for the men's team from 2016 to 2018.  Smiley is a 2021 graduate from Edinboro University, which is where he earned a degree in communication studies.