University of South Alabama Men's Basketball

Richie Riley became head coach of the South Alabama men’s basketball program in 2018. In his seven seasons, he has led the Jaguars to seven straight non-losing seasons, the program’s longest streak since 1983–89. In 2024–25, Riley guided South Alabama to the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title, its first since 2008. Picked to finish 11th in the league’s preseason coaches poll, Riley’s squad defied expectations by posting a 21-11 overall record, the most wins in a season under his leadership and the most regular-season victories by any Jaguar team since 2008. South Alabama also earned four wins over teams ranked in the top 150 of the NCAA NET rankings. Riley’s 2024–25 Jaguars were one of the most efficient and defensively sound teams in the nation, ranking sixth nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.384), 17th in scoring defense (64.3 points per game) and 15th in steals per game (9.3). The Jaguars also ranked in the top 10 nationally in several key categories: seventh in fouls per game (13.3), sixth in turnover margin (+4.9), seventh in turnovers per game (9.2) and 17th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.59). South Alabama led the Sun Belt in each of those categories and won four league games by 25 points or more which the most in a single season since 1998–99. In the 2023–24 season, Riley became just the third head coach in program history to reach 100 career wins at South Alabama. The Jaguars closed the regular season by winning six of their final eight games and secured the No. 8 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament for the second consecutive year. Following the 2023–24 season, two of Riley’s players signed professional contracts. Forward Samuel Tabe, a Division II transfer from Seton Hill, signed with BC Psychiko of the Greek Elite League after earning Sun Belt Player of the Week honors on Feb. 26. Tabe capped his season with four straight 25-point games, including a conference-best 35-point performance against Arkansas State on Feb. 24. Veteran guard Tyrell Jones also went on to play professionally, signing with Enosis Neon Paralimni in the Cypriot Elite League. Jones, a three-year starter for the Jaguars, averaged 12.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in 2023–24. In 2022–23, Riley led the Jaguars to a 19-16 record and a memorable late-season surge, winning 11 of their final 14 games en route to the program’s first appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament championship game since 2009. Riley coached two all-conference selections: Isaiah Moore (first team) and Kevin Samuel (third team), with Samuel also earning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year honors after setting a single-season school record with 86 blocks. The 2021–22 campaign saw Riley guide South Alabama to a 21-12 record — the program’s highest win total since 2007–08 — and a run to the semifinals of The Basketball Classic. The Jaguars finished in the top three in the Sun Belt in both scoring offense and scoring defense, the only team to do so. Three players earned All-Sun Belt honors, and the team posted a 15-3 home record, the second-best in Mitchell Center history. In 2020–21, Riley’s Jaguars posted a 17-11 mark, including an eight-game Sun Belt winning streak. The season was highlighted by the performance of Michael Flowers, who led the league in scoring (21.0 ppg) and was named first-team All-Sun Belt and the conference’s Newcomer of the Year. Riley’s second season, 2019–20, marked a breakthrough with a 20-11 record, the program’s first 20-win season since 2008–09. The Jaguars were led by All-Sun Belt selections Josh Ajayi and Trhae Mitchell. Ajayi topped the league in field-goal percentage, while Mitchell ranked second in blocks per game. Riley’s debut campaign in 2018–19 saw South Alabama feature five double-figure scorers — a first for the program since 1996–97 — while improving offensive efficiency and establishing a fast-paced identity built around transfers and player development. Before arriving in Mobile, Riley spent two seasons as head coach at Nicholls State, where he led the Colonels to a 21-11 record and a share of the 2018 Southland Conference regular-season title — their first in two decades. Nicholls ranked among the national leaders in steals, scoring and turnovers forced under Riley’s leadership. As an assistant, Riley held stints at Clemson, UAB, Eastern Kentucky and Coastal Carolina. At Clemson, he helped the Tigers win 10 ACC games in 2016–17 and recruited top-100 prospect Ty Hudson. At UAB, he helped sign a top-25 recruiting class and contributed to a victory over No. 16 North Carolina in 2013–14. A native of Kentucky, Riley began his coaching career at Georgetown College and later coached at Hawaii Pacific and Pikeville. He earned his degree in special education and human behavior from Eastern Kentucky University in 2005. Riley and his wife, Jess, have three sons: Reese, Rock and Rush.

Rodney Crawford is entering his fifth year under head coach Richie Riley and his third year as Associate Head Coach at South Alabama. Crawford was crucial part of the Jags run to the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title, its first since 2008. Picked to finish 11th in the 2024-25 Sun Belt Conference Preseason poll, the Jags squad defied expectations by posting a 21-11 overall record, the most wins in a season under Crawford's guidance and the most regular-season victories by any Jaguar team since 2008. South Alabama also earned four wins over teams ranked in the top 150 of the NCAA NET rankings. The 2024–25 Jaguars were one of the most efficient and defensively sound teams in the nation, ranking sixth nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.384), 17th in scoring defense (64.3 points per game) and 15th in steals per game (9.3). The Jaguars also ranked in the top 10 nationally in several key categories: seventh in fouls per game (13.3), sixth in turnover margin (+4.9), seventh in turnovers per game (9.2) and 17th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.59). South Alabama led the Sun Belt in each of those categories and won four league games by 25 points or more which the most in a single season since 1998–99. During the 2023-24 campaign, Crawford took the reins of the program for two games after Coach Riley missed time after the loss of his mother. After an up-and-down start to the campaign, South Alabama won six out of its’ last eight games and secured the eighth seed in the Sun Belt Tournament for the second season in a row. Crawford was heavily involved in the development of career 1,000 point scorer Samuel Tabe and sharp shooter Julian Margrave. Tabe was the only Jaguar named Sun Belt Player of the Week this year after a dominant final stretch of the season. He scored the most points by any player in Sun Belt Conference this season with 35 points against Arkansas State on Feb.24. Margrave ranked seventh in the Sun Belt Conference in three-pointers made (51).  In the 2022-23 season, Crawford helped coach Kevin Samuel to the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year award, the first Jaguar to win since the conference began awarding the honor in 1996. In 2021, with Crawford on staff, the Jaguars increased their win total by four, while tallying an impressive 15-3 record at home.  Crawford, who has gained experience as both a head and assistant coach over the past 15 years, joined the program after serving as director of player personnel at Cincinnati the previous two seasons. In his first season with the Bearcats, he was part of a staff that helped UC record a 20-10 overall mark while going 13-5 in the American Athletic Conference, with the team sharing the league’s regular season championship to earn the top seed in the postseason tournament that was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.   In 2020-21, his efforts helped the Bearcats advance to the title game of the AAC Tournament on the way to a 12-11 finish. Crawford was on the staff at Fordham for four years prior to moving to Cincinnati, including serving as associate head coach his last three seasons at the school.   In his first season with the Rams, he helped the school make its first postseason appearance since 1992 after earning an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, with the program finishing among the national leaders in both steals and turnovers forced each of his first two years on the bench. He was an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky for three seasons from 2013-15, during which time the team won 70 games — the most during any three-year period in program history — highlighted by a school-record 25 victories his first year on the staff.  The Colonels recorded 24 victories and won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament the following season while ranking among the best in the country in steals and turnover margin each of his three years with the program. Crawford began his coaching career in 2004-05 as head coach at Harmony (Ohio) Community School, where he coached more than 20 future NCAA Division I players in a four-year span.  After serving as head coach at Mountain State (W.Va.) A two-year letterwinner at Cincinnati, Crawford played on teams that went a combined 56-14 while advancing to the NCAA Tournament each season; that included helping the Bearcats go 31-4 while reaching as high as fifth in the Associated Press poll when he was a senior.  A 2002 graduate of Cincinnati, Crawford and his wife Tracy have two daughters, Jocelyn and Jordyn, and a son, Rodney, Jr

Riley Conroy is entering his third season with the South Alabama men’s basketball program. Since arriving in Mobile in 2023, Conroy has played a key role in the program’s development on and off the court, contributing to recruiting, player development, scouting, and operations. In the 2024–25 season, Conroy helped guide South Alabama to its first Sun Belt regular-season title since 2008. Picked to finish 11th in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll, the Jaguars exceeded expectations by posting a 21-11 overall record, the most wins under head coach Richie Riley and the program’s highest regular-season win total in 17 years.  The 2024–25 Jaguars were one of the most efficient and defensively sound teams in the nation. South Alabama ranked sixth nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.384), 17th in scoring defense (64.3 points per game), and 15th in steals per game (9.3). The Jags also ranked seventh in fouls per game (13.3), sixth in turnover margin (+4.9), seventh in turnovers per game (9.2), and 17th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.59), leading the Sun Belt in all five categories. The Jaguars also won four conference games by 25 points or more, the most in a single season since 1998–99. During his first season, Conroy was involved in the development of standout guards Tyrell Jones and Samuel Tabe. In 2023–24, Jones led the team in scoring (12.7 ppg), assists (2.0 apg), and steals (1.5 spg), while Tabe surpassed 1,000 career points and became the only Jaguar to be named Sun Belt Player of the Week after a 35-point performance against Arkansas State — the highest single-game point total in the league that season. At the conclusion of the campaign, both athletes signed professional contracts. Tabe inked a deal with BC Psychiko of the Greek Elite League, and Jones signed with Enosis Neon Paralimni of the Cypriot Elite League.  Before joining South Alabama, Conroy spent four seasons at Southeastern Louisiana, serving as director of operations and recruiting in his first year before being promoted to assistant coach in 2020. At age 24, he was the youngest Division I assistant in men’s basketball during the 2020–21 season. Conroy helped lead Southeastern to a 19-14 record in 2021–22 and a trip to the Southland Conference championship game. The following year, the program won 12 conference games. He played a significant role in recruiting and developing 2023 All-Southland First Team guard Boogie Anderson. Conroy was named to Silver Waves Media’s “75 Top Rising Mid-Major Assistant Coaches” list in both 2021–22 and 2022–23. Prior to his collegiate coaching career, Conroy worked at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas, where he helped lead the team to a top-10 national ranking. Eleven players from that team went on to play at the Division I level, including signees at Michigan State and Creighton. A New Orleans native, Conroy played four years at Tulane University, competing under head coaches Ed Conroy (his father) and Mike Dunleavy Sr. He graduated with degrees in business management and marketing and later earned an MBA with a specialization in sports administration from Florida Atlantic University in 2020. Conroy is the son of Ed and Ginny Conroy. His father is currently the head coach at The Citadel and he has two siblings.  He and his wife, Tadam, reside in Mobile, Alabama, with their son, Lochlan. 

Samuel Romanski joined the University of South Alabama Athletic Performance staff in May of 2025. He serves as Director of Olympic Sports Athletic Performance for the men's basketball and men's tennis teams.  Prior to joining South Alabama, Romanski worked as the Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning at Stetson University for Men’s and Women’s Basketball , as well as Indoor Volleyball. Romanski was instrumental in the development of the Stetson Men’s Basketball Team’s Conference Championship and their first-ever appearance in the NCAA March Madness Tournament (2023–2024).  A former two-time NCAA Division III Football All-American (2018/2019) and NFL prospect (Chicago Bears tryout), Samuel Romanski joined Stetson University in 2022 after completing a stint with the University of Wisconsin’s strength and conditioning program. While with the Badgers during the 2021 season, he contributed to a successful campaign that culminated in a Las Vegas Bowl victory over Arizona State (20-13).  Before his time in Madison, Romanski served as a graduate assistant strength coach at North Dakota State University, where he worked primarily with the Bison football team, training All-Americans and multiple NFL draft picks.  In addition to his academic and athletic accomplishments, Romanski gained valuable experience through internships at Stanford University and his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.