Florida Institute of Technology Men's Basketball

Mims Head Coach What They Are Saying About Billy Mims (PDF) What They Are Saying About Billy Mims (PDF) Billy Mims enters his 12th year at the helm of the Florida Tech men's basketball team in 2016-17. This season will be his 31st as a head coach and 36th year of coaching overall. As recently as 2015-16, Mims helped forward Corbin Jackson earn Division II Bulletin All-American Honorable Mention, while also coaching him to his third consecutive Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Year award. In addition, Isaac Spence became the league's first-ever male student-athlete to be named to the Allstate NABC Good Works Team, recognizing those who have dedicated themselves to bettering the lives of others through giving back to their communities.   In the summer of 2015, Mims took the Panthers on their first-ever trip to London, a 10-day journey in which they toured several attractions and mounted a 4-2 record agiainst professional-level teams from England. The 2014-15 season was one of many firsts, as Chris Carter and Jermaine Jackson were named Sporting News Preseason All-Americans, the first time in school history two-student athletes had received such honors in the same year. Florida Tech also made its debut on ESPN3 in a pair of road games at NCAA Division I Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson. Florida Tech opened the year 9-1, winning two games on the road in the SSC vs. SIAC NCAA South Regional Challenge and beating CIAA Champion Livingstone and Peach Belt Conference member Flagler both on the road. Mims also guided the Panthers to a 16-point victory against No. 4 Barry and helped coach Corbin Jackson to his second straight SSC Defensive Player of the Year honor, while Jordan Majors earned the league's Freshman of the Year award. Returning a core of junior guards in 2013-14 in Chris Carter and Jermaine Jackson along with center David Usic, redshirt sophomore Corbin Jackson and junior Akeem Johnson joined the trio in the starting lineup. The Panthers got off to a quick start, finishing the 2013 portion of their schedule 11-1. The lone loss came on a jumper from 16 feet out with 2.3 seconds remaining. At Palm Beach Atlantic University on Nov. 18, Florida Tech overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Sailfish, 65-69. With the win, Mims became the all-time winningest coach in school history with 126.  On Dec. 7 in its Sunshine State Conference opener, FIT dominated en route to a victory over Lynn University. In the game, Corbin Jackson brought the crowd at Clemente Center to its feet with a soaring dunk over a Fighting Knight defender. The dunk was featured at No. 4 on ESPN Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays on the 1 a.m. ET live edition of the telecast. The feature was FIT's third in as many seasons. Mims guided newcomer Corbin Jackson to the SSC Defensive Player of the Year, SSC All-Newcomer Team and Daktronics All-South Region Second Team honors while Jermaine Jackson was named to the All-SSC First Team and NABC South District Second Team. Mims closed out the 2012-13 season just three wins away from tying Andy Russo for most wins all-time by a men's basketball head coach with 125. He entered the season with a record of 122-108 (.530). Despite returning just one starter of the 2011-12 squad that finished 23-7, 12-4 SSC and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Mims guided a young Panther club to a perfect 9-0 mark in February 2013 to end the regular season. The team finished the season 16-11 with two victories over Sunshine State Conference foes and top-25 ranked Florida Southern (No. 6) and Saint Leo (No. 16). Over the last six seasons, Mims has guided the Panthers to an 83-23 record at the Clemente Center. Led by DII Bulletin Honorable Mention All-American Julius Reid, who also earned Daktronics all-region second team, NABC all-district second team and all-SSC second team honors, the Panthers overcame a slow start to take the No. 4 seed in the SSC Championships. Mims was the architect of possibly the greatest season in the programs history in 2011-12, leading the Crimson and Gray to its first outright Sunshine State Conference Championship and the second round of the NCAA Division II Championship. The Panthers finished at 23-7 overall and 12-4 in the SSC. Their 23 wins on the season were the second-most in program history. FITs appearance in the NCAA Tournament was its third in its 45-plus year history and first since the 1989-90 season. The Panthers defeated Saint Leo in the first round and advanced to the second round for the second time ever where they played then No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville. At home, the Panthers mounted a 17-1 record inside the Clemente Center. In SSC play, they posted a perfect 8-0 record in their gym for the first time ever. They entered the 2012-13 season having won 13 consecutive games on their home floor. While working towards what would be a memorable season, Mims earned his 500th victory as a head coach and his 100th win as the Panthers mens basketball coach. Mims coaching helped Simon Cummings conclude his Panther career with a decorated senior campaign. He was named Daktronics All-South Region, National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District and SSC Player of the Week three times. One of his weekly honors followed a game in which he connected on 10 straight three-pointers to tie a 23-year-old NCAA Division II record. He finished 12-for-15 from the arc and his record-tying feat was highlighted on ESPN SportsCenters Top 10 Plays. Mims aided in Cummings and Anthony Jackson signing professional contracts at the conclusion of the season. Cummings played for the Essex Leopards in the English Basketball League and Jackson played for Ferrenteria Brenes-Barva of the Costa Rican Basketball Federation. At the conclusion of the season, City of Melbourne Mayor Harry Goode Jr. issued a proclamation to Mims for his teams achievements throughout the season and his career. The Panthers won 19 games, the third-most under Mims, in 2010-11. Three wins were against nationally ranked opponents at home on the Clemente Center floor. Under his guidance, Justin Sedlak became the programs second All-American and is now playing his second season of professional basketball and his first with the Solna Vikings in Sweden.  In addition to his All-American award, he won several conference and regional awards, including Daktronics South Region Player of the Year in 2011. He closed out his Panther career as the programs all-time leading scorer with 1,896 points. Mims led the Panthers to the programs fifth 20-win season in 2007-08. They began the year with 11 straight wins. Their hot start propelled them to the programs highest national ranking ever at No. 11. Mims was rewarded for his teams play by being selected Division II Bulletin National Coach of the Month for December. FIT went on to post a winning conference record for the first time in nine years, largely due to the play of All-American candidate Carl McNally. McNally signed a professional contract with the Milton Keynes Lions in the British Basketball League (BBL) following the season. Now, seven of Mims former Panthers have gone on to play professionally overseas at the completion of their collegiate careers. Since he took over the Florida Tech program, he has coached 13 All-SSC players, 16 SSC Players of the Week, one All-SSC Tournament player, five All-South Region players, one all-district player, one Division II Bulletin National Player of the Month, one SSC Freshman of the Year (Derek Hellemann), two SSC Freshman of the Year runner-ups, one Daktronics All-South Region Player of the Year and one Daktronics Second Team All-American. Mims came to Florida Tech after one season at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB). At UTPB, he set the school record for wins, compiling more victories in one season than the Falcons combined to achieve in the programs first two years of existence. He produced one NAIA National Player of the Week, Rashad Pride, one NAIA All-American and First Team All-Red River Athletic Conference selection, Marlo Saunders, and one NAIA Academic All-American, Travis Levie. He helped both Saunders and his brother Marcus launch professional careers in London, England, after graduating from UTPB. He is no stranger to the highly competitive Sunshine State Conference. He spent six seasons as the head coach of Barry University from 1989-94. During his tenure, Barry was ranked as high as seventh in the NCAA Division II South Region. He was the first coach to guide Barry to a SSC Tournament Championship game. In 1993, he produced Barrys first-ever Basketball Times First Team All-American, Anthel Hicks. He also coached two All-South Region players, six All-SSC players, two All-SSC Tournament players, six SSC All-Freshman Team members and one SSC Freshman of the Year, Bobby Latham, in 1991. After coaching at Barry, Mims spent 11 years in the British professional ranks, serving as head coach and director of player personnel for two different clubs: London Leopards and Leicester Riders. In the U.K., he captured three national championships in 1997, 1998 and 2001 and was named league Coach of the Year twice in 1998 by the BBL and 2001 by The Sun, Englands largest daily newspaper. He guided both of his English clubs to National Cup Championships as well - London in 1997 and Leicester in 2001. He was also voted by BBL fans to coach in the prestigious BBL All-Star game on two occasions. From 1995-96, he was an assistant coach for Englands Senior Mens National Team in charge of advance scouting of all European opponents. Mims first-ever head coaching job was with Neptune Basketball Club in Cork, Ireland. He led the club to the 1987 Irish National League Championship. He then guided Neptune to the 1987 National Top Four Championship for the first time in the clubs history. He has spent time as an assistant and associate head coach at four different colleges: College of Charleston (S.C.), Lander College (S.C.), Winthrop College (S.C.) and Chowan College (N.C.). Mims graduated as the valedictorian from Berkeley High School (Moncks Corner, S.C.) in 1978 and is a 1981 Magna Cum Laude graduate of The Baptist College at Charleston (S.C.). He has spoken and coached at numerous clinics, including the FIBA International Coaching Clinic held in conjunction with the men's World Championships at Istanbul, Turkey in September 2010. He has been extremely active in the community with his Read to Succeed program, both in London and Florida, and his highly popular Slam Dunk Smoking program in England, Texas and Florida. Highly sought after as a motivational speaker, Mims has entertained organizations around the world such as Accenture, Investors in People and DynCorp International. He has also been active in his local church, serving as a Lay Eucharistic Minister at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Cocoa Village since 2007. Mims has served as a studio analyst for the NBA All-Star Game and NBA Finals for over 10 years on European television. He hosted his own radio show, "1 on 1," on BBC Radio in the U.K. and "The Billy Mims Show" on ESPN Radio on the Space Coast. Mims and his wife Lynne reside in Rockledge with their children Courtney, Callie and Josh. Year-by-Year Collegiate Coaching Record   Career Collegiate Breakdown - 256-258 (18 seasons) Barry - 79-86 (six seasons) Texas Permian Basin - 9-23 (one season) Florida Tech - 168-149 (11 seasons) Professional Career - 317-238 What They Are Saying About Billy Mims (PDF) Billy Mims enters his 12th year at the helm of the Florida Tech men's basketball team in 2016-17. This season will be his 31st as a head coach and 36th year of coaching overall. As recently as 2015-16, Mims helped forward Corbin Jackson earn Division II Bulletin All-American Honorable Mention, while also coaching him to his third consecutive Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Year award. In addition, Isaac Spence became the league's first-ever male student-athlete to be named to the Allstate NABC Good Works Team, recognizing those who have dedicated themselves to bettering the lives of others through giving back to their communities.   In the summer of 2015, Mims took the Panthers on their first-ever trip to London, a 10-day journey in which they toured several attractions and mounted a 4-2 record agiainst professional-level teams from England. The 2014-15 season was one of many firsts, as Chris Carter and Jermaine Jackson were named Sporting News Preseason All-Americans, the first time in school history two-student athletes had received such honors in the same year. Florida Tech also made its debut on ESPN3 in a pair of road games at NCAA Division I Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson. Florida Tech opened the year 9-1, winning two games on the road in the SSC vs. SIAC NCAA South Regional Challenge and beating CIAA Champion Livingstone and Peach Belt Conference member Flagler both on the road. Mims also guided the Panthers to a 16-point victory against No. 4 Barry and helped coach Corbin Jackson to his second straight SSC Defensive Player of the Year honor, while Jordan Majors earned the league's Freshman of the Year award. Returning a core of junior guards in 2013-14 in Chris Carter and Jermaine Jackson along with center David Usic, redshirt sophomore Corbin Jackson and junior Akeem Johnson joined the trio in the starting lineup. The Panthers got off to a quick start, finishing the 2013 portion of their schedule 11-1. The lone loss came on a jumper from 16 feet out with 2.3 seconds remaining. At Palm Beach Atlantic University on Nov. 18, Florida Tech overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Sailfish, 65-69. With the win, Mims became the all-time winningest coach in school history with 126.  On Dec. 7 in its Sunshine State Conference opener, FIT dominated en route to a victory over Lynn University. In the game, Corbin Jackson brought the crowd at Clemente Center to its feet with a soaring dunk over a Fighting Knight defender. The dunk was featured at No. 4 on ESPN Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays on the 1 a.m. ET live edition of the telecast. The feature was FIT's third in as many seasons. Mims guided newcomer Corbin Jackson to the SSC Defensive Player of the Year, SSC All-Newcomer Team and Daktronics All-South Region Second Team honors while Jermaine Jackson was named to the All-SSC First Team and NABC South District Second Team. Mims closed out the 2012-13 season just three wins away from tying Andy Russo for most wins all-time by a men's basketball head coach with 125. He entered the season with a record of 122-108 (.530). Despite returning just one starter of the 2011-12 squad that finished 23-7, 12-4 SSC and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Mims guided a young Panther club to a perfect 9-0 mark in February 2013 to end the regular season. The team finished the season 16-11 with two victories over Sunshine State Conference foes and top-25 ranked Florida Southern (No. 6) and Saint Leo (No. 16). Over the last six seasons, Mims has guided the Panthers to an 83-23 record at the Clemente Center. Led by DII Bulletin Honorable Mention All-American Julius Reid, who also earned Daktronics all-region second team, NABC all-district second team and all-SSC second team honors, the Panthers overcame a slow start to take the No. 4 seed in the SSC Championships. Mims was the architect of possibly the greatest season in the programs history in 2011-12, leading the Crimson and Gray to its first outright Sunshine State Conference Championship and the second round of the NCAA Division II Championship. The Panthers finished at 23-7 overall and 12-4 in the SSC. Their 23 wins on the season were the second-most in program history. FITs appearance in the NCAA Tournament was its third in its 45-plus year history and first since the 1989-90 season. The Panthers defeated Saint Leo in the first round and advanced to the second round for the second time ever where they played then No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville. At home, the Panthers mounted a 17-1 record inside the Clemente Center. In SSC play, they posted a perfect 8-0 record in their gym for the first time ever. They entered the 2012-13 season having won 13 consecutive games on their home floor. While working towards what would be a memorable season, Mims earned his 500th victory as a head coach and his 100th win as the Panthers mens basketball coach. Mims coaching helped Simon Cummings conclude his Panther career with a decorated senior campaign. He was named Daktronics All-South Region, National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District and SSC Player of the Week three times. One of his weekly honors followed a game in which he connected on 10 straight three-pointers to tie a 23-year-old NCAA Division II record. He finished 12-for-15 from the arc and his record-tying feat was highlighted on ESPN SportsCenters Top 10 Plays. Mims aided in Cummings and Anthony Jackson signing professional contracts at the conclusion of the season. Cummings played for the Essex Leopards in the English Basketball League and Jackson played for Ferrenteria Brenes-Barva of the Costa Rican Basketball Federation. At the conclusion of the season, City of Melbourne Mayor Harry Goode Jr. issued a proclamation to Mims for his teams achievements throughout the season and his career. The Panthers won 19 games, the third-most under Mims, in 2010-11. Three wins were against nationally ranked opponents at home on the Clemente Center floor. Under his guidance, Justin Sedlak became the programs second All-American and is now playing his second season of professional basketball and his first with the Solna Vikings in Sweden.  In addition to his All-American award, he won several conference and regional awards, including Daktronics South Region Player of the Year in 2011. He closed out his Panther career as the programs all-time leading scorer with 1,896 points. Mims led the Panthers to the programs fifth 20-win season in 2007-08. They began the year with 11 straight wins. Their hot start propelled them to the programs highest national ranking ever at No. 11. Mims was rewarded for his teams play by being selected Division II Bulletin National Coach of the Month for December. FIT went on to post a winning conference record for the first time in nine years, largely due to the play of All-American candidate Carl McNally. McNally signed a professional contract with the Milton Keynes Lions in the British Basketball League (BBL) following the season. Now, seven of Mims former Panthers have gone on to play professionally overseas at the completion of their collegiate careers. Since he took over the Florida Tech program, he has coached 13 All-SSC players, 16 SSC Players of the Week, one All-SSC Tournament player, five All-South Region players, one all-district player, one Division II Bulletin National Player of the Month, one SSC Freshman of the Year (Derek Hellemann), two SSC Freshman of the Year runner-ups, one Daktronics All-South Region Player of the Year and one Daktronics Second Team All-American. Mims came to Florida Tech after one season at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB). At UTPB, he set the school record for wins, compiling more victories in one season than the Falcons combined to achieve in the programs first two years of existence. He produced one NAIA National Player of the Week, Rashad Pride, one NAIA All-American and First Team All-Red River Athletic Conference selection, Marlo Saunders, and one NAIA Academic All-American, Travis Levie. He helped both Saunders and his brother Marcus launch professional careers in London, England, after graduating from UTPB. He is no stranger to the highly competitive Sunshine State Conference. He spent six seasons as the head coach of Barry University from 1989-94. During his tenure, Barry was ranked as high as seventh in the NCAA Division II South Region. He was the first coach to guide Barry to a SSC Tournament Championship game. In 1993, he produced Barrys first-ever Basketball Times First Team All-American, Anthel Hicks. He also coached two All-South Region players, six All-SSC players, two All-SSC Tournament players, six SSC All-Freshman Team members and one SSC Freshman of the Year, Bobby Latham, in 1991. After coaching at Barry, Mims spent 11 years in the British professional ranks, serving as head coach and director of player personnel for two different clubs: London Leopards and Leicester Riders. In the U.K., he captured three national championships in 1997, 1998 and 2001 and was named league Coach of the Year twice in 1998 by the BBL and 2001 by The Sun, Englands largest daily newspaper. He guided both of his English clubs to National Cup Championships as well - London in 1997 and Leicester in 2001. He was also voted by BBL fans to coach in the prestigious BBL All-Star game on two occasions. From 1995-96, he was an assistant coach for Englands Senior Mens National Team in charge of advance scouting of all European opponents. Mims first-ever head coaching job was with Neptune Basketball Club in Cork, Ireland. He led the club to the 1987 Irish National League Championship. He then guided Neptune to the 1987 National Top Four Championship for the first time in the clubs history. He has spent time as an assistant and associate head coach at four different colleges: College of Charleston (S.C.), Lander College (S.C.), Winthrop College (S.C.) and Chowan College (N.C.). Mims graduated as the valedictorian from Berkeley High School (Moncks Corner, S.C.) in 1978 and is a 1981 Magna Cum Laude graduate of The Baptist College at Charleston (S.C.). He has spoken and coached at numerous clinics, including the FIBA International Coaching Clinic held in conjunction with the men's World Championships at Istanbul, Turkey in September 2010. He has been extremely active in the community with his Read to Succeed program, both in London and Florida, and his highly popular Slam Dunk Smoking program in England, Texas and Florida. Highly sought after as a motivational speaker, Mims has entertained organizations around the world such as Accenture, Investors in People and DynCorp International. He has also been active in his local church, serving as a Lay Eucharistic Minister at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Cocoa Village since 2007. Mims has served as a studio analyst for the NBA All-Star Game and NBA Finals for over 10 years on European television. He hosted his own radio show, "1 on 1," on BBC Radio in the U.K. and "The Billy Mims Show" on ESPN Radio on the Space Coast. Mims and his wife Lynne reside in Rockledge with their children Courtney, Callie and Josh. Year-by-Year Collegiate Coaching Record   Career Collegiate Breakdown - 256-258 (18 seasons) Barry - 79-86 (six seasons) Texas Permian Basin - 9-23 (one season) Florida Tech - 168-149 (11 seasons) Professional Career - 317-238

Will Murphy was named the head coach of Florida Tech men's basketball in April 2025. Murphy is the 12th head coach in program history. Murphy joined the Panthers after making a significant impact at Wofford College, where he spent eight seasons with the program. Initially hired as the director of basketball operations in 2017, he was elevated to assistant coach later that year and to associate head coach in August 2023. Over the course of his tenure, Murphy helped guide Wofford to seven consecutive winning seasons and multiple postseason appearances and developed a reputation for excellence in the Southern Conference. In 2018-19, Wofford went 30-5 overall and a perfect 18-0 in SoCon play, capturing the conference tournament title and earning a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament—where the Terriers notched their first-ever NCAA victory with a win over Seton Hall and finished the season ranked No. 19 in the AP Top 25. Under Murphy's guidance, the program produced multiple All-Conference standouts, including SoCon Players of the Year Fletcher Magee and B.J. Mack. Wofford's success included a road win over No. 17 North Carolina, back-to-back semifinal appearances in the SoCon Tournament, and continued postseason consistency even amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Murphy played a vital role in recruiting, player development, game planning, and scouting. In recognition of his impact, he was named to the NABC Under Armour 30-Under-30 list following the 2019-20 season. Before joining the Terriers, Murphy spent the previous season as the director of player development for Wake Forest. Prior to that role, Murphy spent three seasons in Winston-Salem as the video coordinator and the director of technology and scouting for the Demon Deacons. Murphy started his career at Wake Forest as a student manager before joining the active roster as a walk-on guard. He graduated from Wake Forest in May of 2013 with a degree in mathematical business.

Head Coach Will Murphy announced the hiring of Associate Head Coach Zack Freesman in April 2025. Freesman joins Florida Tech with 13 years of experience at the Division 1 level, including qualifying for 4 NCAA Tournaments. Freesman joins the Panthers after serving as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator at Coastal Carolina University for the 2024-25 season. In his lone season at Coastal Carolina, Freesman helped increase the win total from the previous season.  Prior to that, he spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Western Carolina University, where he played a vital role in the Catamounts top four Southern Conference regular season finishes and a postseason appearance in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).   Freesman was instrumental in helping turn around the Catamount men's basketball program, where he was appointed as the team's offensive and special situations coordinator. Under Freesman's leadership, Western Carolina produced an extremely efficient offense, ranking nationally among the top 125 teams.   At the end of the 2021-22 season, Freesman was promoted for his outstanding work in the Catamounts recruiting efforts, being named the program's recruiting coordinator.   Freesman was influential in guiding several top prospects to Cullowhee, including three all-conference selections. Vonterius Woolbright, the 2023-24 SoCon Player of the Year, joined the Catamounts from the junior college ranks. Preseason All-SoCon selections Tre Jackson and Russell Jones Jr. also came to WCU from Big 12 member Iowa State and Winthrop, respectively. Jones Jr. followed Freesman to the mountains after having previously been coached by him at Winthrop University.   Before Western Carolina, Freesman served head coach Pat Kelsey as the Director of Basketball Operations (2019-21) and Video Coordinator (2018-19) at Winthrop University. While in Rock Hill, Freesman helped the Eagles qualify for back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.   Prior to his time at Winthrop, Freesman spent two seasons at VCU as a graduate assistant. During his time, the Rams won 44 games and advanced to the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Freesman completed his master's degree coursework in sport leadership while at Virginia Commonwealth University.   A 2016 graduate of the University of North Florida, Freesman earned his bachelor's degree in sport management with minors in business and community leadership. He spent four years as a manager for the Ospreys' men's basketball program and was named head manager for the final two. In 2015, the Ospreys won back-to-back Atlantic Sun Conference Championships and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.   Originally from Weston, FL, Freesman graduated from Cypress Bay High School in 2012. He and his wife, Jillian, were married in May of 2021 and welcomed their daughter, Amelia, to the family in June of 2024.

Cecil Avant joined the Florida Tech Panther Basketball staff ahead of the 2025-26 season. Avant brings over 15 years of coaching experience, including high school, travel, college, and player development roles. Head Coach Will Murphy on the hire of Cecil Avant, "We are thrilled to have Coach Avant on our staff at Florida Tech.  He has already done a lot he the game of basketball.  Coach Avant has been a head high school coach, ran an AAU program and worked in player development with some high-level players.  He is sharp and brings great experience both as a coach and as a former athlete in the Sunshine State Conference." Avant played collegiately at Florida Gulf Coast University from 2005-2007 and for SSC foe Nova Southeastern University in 2007-2008 where he was named team captain. Avant would eventually go on to play at Elms College in Chicopee, MA where he helped the Blazers win a conference title and received a NCAA tournament bid averaging 12 points, 4 assists and shooting 95% from the free throw line. After his playing career, Avant served as Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine.  Avant was named the Head Boys’ Varsity Basketball Coach at South Plantation High School from 2014-2020. After moving to Orlando in 2020, he became one of the founding members and Director of Player Development for Nona Basketball Academy, which had grown to over 200 players and 10+ competitive teams.  Avant coached both the girls and boys high school programs, helping several players go on to play at the college level, as well as running a player development program for all players in the academy.  Originally a South Florida native, Avant graduated from Cypress Bay High School in 2005. He currently lives in Palm Bay with his wife, Lorraine, and their two daughters, Jaida and Grace. 

Francesco De Luca joined the Panthers men's basketball team as a student manager in August 2023. De Luca assists the team in the program's day-to-day operations while pursuing his Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering. Originally from Monte Porzio Catone, Italy, De Luca arrived at Florida Tech after transferring from St Petersburg CC. De Luca spent one season as a student manager for the St Petersburg CC men’s basketball team.