Winthrop University Men's Basketball

Mark Prosser was hired as the 7th head coach in Winthrop men's basketball history on Apr. 2, 2021 Prosser spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Western Carolina men's basketball program and is no stranger to Winthrop. In April of 2012, Prosser was hired as an assistant coach under Pat Kelsey and then served as Associate Head Coach from August of 2013 until his departure to Western Carolina in the spring of 2018. "The turnaround Mark created at Western from year one to year two proved in my mind that he was ready to be a head coach," said Halpin. "So the opportunity to hire a sitting head coach who knows our tradition, our players and our community here in Rock Hill was exactly what we wanted." Before departing for Western Carolina, Prosser played a role in helping bring the Winthrop men's basketball program back to the top of the Big South Conference, which was achieved when the Eagles captured the 2017 Big South Conference Championship and returned to the NCAA Tournament. "My family and I could not be more excited to come home to Winthrop University and the Rock Hill community," said Prosser. "We'd like to thank Dr. Halpin, Dr. Hynd, the Board of Trustees and the entire Winthrop community for entrusting us with one of the most prestigious college basketball programs in the country." In just his second season at the helm of the Catamounts program, Prosser led the team to a 12-win improvement to finish the season at 19-12. It was the second-most improved mark across NCAA Division I men's basketball. That season the team reached the Southern Conference semifinals before falling to eventual champion ETSU. That season Prosser's achievement was recognized by College Insider as he was honored as the Skip Prosser 'Man of the Year' award, which is named after his father. Winthrop has been one of the top three-point shooting teams in the Big South Conference and nationally over the last 5-6 years and Prosser's teams in three seasons averaged 9.15 threes per game, which included a program record for a single-season with 302 in 2019-20. In 2018-19 the team set the program record for threes in a single-season, which now sits as the second-most. During his 15-year coaching career on the NCAA level, Prosser has been an assistant coach at Wofford College on two occasions and Bucknell while spending one season at Brevard College as the head coach before joining Winthrop's staff. In his second stint at Wofford College, Prosser helped the Terriers to a 2010-11 Southern Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. While at Bucknell the team averaged 20 wins a season and in 2004-05 the team won the Patriot League title. The Bison made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament and pulled off a first round upset over Kansas. The next season (2005-06) the Bison went undefeated in the Patriot League, becoming the first conference member to do so. The team earned its first Top 25 appearance in school history and earned a 9-seed in the NCAA Tournament as Bucknell defeated Arkansas before falling to Memphis in the second round. A native of Wheeling, W.Va., Prosser played collegiately at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., before a knee injury ended his career prematurely. He began his coaching career as a student assistant coach at Marist until his graduation in 2002, helping the Red Foxes to a share of the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season title in 2001-02. Prosser and his wife Emily are the parents of two -- a daughter, Ava Grayce and a son, Declan.    

Monty Sanders was hired as Associate Head Coach in May of 2024. Sanders is in his second stint with the Eagles and returns to be in charge of the offense, the same role he had as an assistant coach with the Eagles in 2021-22. Sanders returns after spending the past two seasons as assistant coach at Campbell University. He joined the Fighting Camel staff in May 2022 after serving one season at Winthrop as the director of player development. In his first year with the Camels, Sanders helped guide a team that advanced to the Big South Championship final. The Camels knocked off defending champ and second seed Longwood and third-seeded Radford before falling to top seed UNC Asheville in the title game.   Sanders helped develop Big South freshman of the year Anthony Dell’Orso, who led all league freshmen in scoring (12.5), rebounding (5.8) and free throw percentage (.830).  Ricky Clemons earned all-conference honors, while Laurynas Vaistaras was named to the Big South all-academic team during Sanders’ first year with the program.   The Camels won a share of the 2022 Appalachian State MTE, defeating eventual ASUN champ Kennesaw State and Sun Belt member Appalachian.  Campbell also played ACC member NC State to a two-possession game (67-73) in Raleigh. When Sanders was on staff in 2021-22, the Eagles were 23-9 and advanced to the Big South Conference Title game. That season Winthrop was 3rd in the league in scoring (75.2 ppg) while leading the conference in field goal percentage and three-point field goals per game (8.6). Eagles had 276 three-point field goals, 8th most in a single-season in program history. Sanders also helped in the development of D.J. Burns Jr., who was the 2021-22 Big South Conference Player of the Year. For the second time, Sanders was chosen to attend the 2023 TopConnect Basketball Symposium, identifies the top assistant basketball coaches in the country and connects them with mid-major Athletic Directors providing tremendous networking and leadership development opportunities for both parties. Sanders moved to Winthrop after spending the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach at UNC Wilmington.      Prior to his stop at UNCW, Sanders spent two seasons with head coach Mark Prosser at Western Carolina.  Sanders was an assistant coach during Prosser’s first season with the Catamounts in 2018-19 and before the start of the 2019-20 season was promoted to associate head coach. During that season (’19-20) he helped lead the team to the second-largest turnaround in NCAA D1 by winning 12 more games than the previous season. As the offensive coordinator he helped guide the team to final national rankings of 17th in scoring offense, 14th in three-point field goals per game and 17th in effective field goal percentage.   His coaching career began at his alma mater as the director of operations for the Elon men’s basketball program. Sanders, who began his collegiate career at Richmond, played his final two seasons with the Phoenix and was a team captain as a senior. He was promoted to assistant coach before the 2013-14 season and spent five seasons in that role before departing to join Prosser at Western Carolina.   A native of Raleigh, N.C., Sanders began his playing career at Richmond before transferring to Elon following the 2005-06 campaign. He was a two-year letter winner with the Phoenix and served as a team captain in his senior year under former head coach Ernie Nestor.   Sanders continued his association with Elon as Director of Basketball Operations in August of 2010 and was promoted to assistant coach in the summer of 2013. In Sanders’ five seasons as assistant, Elon posted double-digit victories each year, including a pair of 18-win seasons.   A tireless recruiter, Sanders signed players from across the United States as well as international talent from Canada, Germany, Croatia and England. He was instrumental in signing Elon's top career 3-point shooter, Tanner Samson, who drained 324 career treys and racked up 1,320 career points.   Working mostly with Elon's big men, Sanders aided in the development of the program's all-time blocked shots leader and 1,600-point scorer Lucas Troutman. He also worked closely with all-time great Tyler Seibring, a three-time All-CAA and two-time NABC All-District 10 selection.   Sanders also worked primarily with big men at both Western Carolina and UNCW. At WCU he assisted in the development of Carlos Dotson who earned back-to-back All-Conference selections as well as a Lou Henson All-American selection.   Sanders helped the Phoenix pile up 21 wins in the 2012-13 season, the school’s most victories in the NCAA Division I era, and the program's first D-I postseason berth in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament as Elon captured the Southern Conference North Division regular season championship. Sanders was also part of Elon transition’s to the Colonial Athletic Association in the 2014-15 season.   Prior to returning to Elon as a member of the staff, Sanders served as assistant boy’s varsity basketball coach at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh and head coach of the Garner Road Basketball Club AAU 15U team.   As a player, Sanders was a popular standout for the Phoenix, on and off the court. One of Sanders’ career highlights came in the 2009 Southern Conference Tournament when he scored a career-high 21 points in an upset victory over Wofford.  Away from the court, he served on Elon’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council from 2007-2009 and spearheaded the annual "Phoenix Field Day" for inner-city youth of Burlington, a program that Elon students still continue today.   Sanders earned his bachelor's degree in business administration at Elon in 2009 and his MBA from Winthrop in 2023. He has a daughter, Emmerson Sloane Sanders and son, Beckham Steele Sanders.  

Tony Rack joined the Winthrop men’s basketball coaching staff in April of 2021. This is Rack’s second stint with the Eagles as he was on staff from 2012-13 to 2014-15. Rack comes to the Eagles after spending three seasons at Western Carolina as an assistant coach under Mark Prosser. He helped the Catamounts flip the script after one season, going from a seven-win team to a 19-14 mark in 2019-20. The 12-win improvement was the second-best among NCAA D1 programs for that season. Rack assisted in the recruitment and development of two First Team All-SoCon players and first at Western Carolina since the 2014-15 season (Mason Faulkner and Carlos Dotson). In fact, they are the first teammates to be all-league first team at Western Carolina in over 25 years – since the 1994-95 season. Prior to arriving at WCU, Rack worked at his alma mater Northern Kentucky University where he most recently served as the Director of Basketball Operations. In the spring of 2018, Rack was honored by the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) as he was named a 2017-18 Under Armour 30-under-30 recipient. The 30-under-30 is designed to highlight and recognize up-and-coming basketball coaches across the nation.  Rack spent three seasons on the bench at Northern Kentucky as he helped contribute to one of the nation's largest turnarounds between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons as NKU went from nine wins to a NCAA Division I era record 24 victories the following year. The Norse earned their first-ever berth into the NCAA tournament by winning the Horizon League tournament in 2016-17. In 2017-18, Rack contributed in helping NKU capture its first Horizon League regular season championship, garnering the automatic bid to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) with a second-consecutive, 20-win season. Rack began his path to coaching when he joined former Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey's staff as a graduate assistant (2012-13) and later in basketball operations. Rack was in Rock Hill, S.C., for three seasons with the men's basketball program where he was a part of 53 victories and the Eagles twice reaching the Big South Conference championship game. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Rack is a 2012 graduate of Northern Kentucky where he was a four-year member of the men's basketball team. As a player, Rack was known for his accuracy behind the 3-point arc at NKU as he led the team in 3-point field goal percentage for three consecutive seasons. As a senior, he finished the year with a 46.1 shooting percentage. Rack was a team captain as a senior and was also an Academic All-American Nominee, voted to the Capital One Academic All-District IV First Team as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court.He also served as a representative on the NKU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for all four years as an undergraduate. All told, Rack graduated from NKU as one of the program's most-prolific shooters, ranking third all-time in 3-point field goal percent and ninth in three's made. A 6-0 guard, Rack also had an impressive prep career at Moeller High School in Cincinnati. Over his final two seasons, Rack led the Greater Catholic League in assists and averaged 4.3 assists as a senior. In 2007, he was the starting point guard of the Moeller team that won the Ohio Division I state title. In addition to his basketball skills, Rack was also a member of the varsity football and baseball teams. Rack is the son of Jim and Susan Rack and has an older brother, Kevin. He resides in Rock Hill with his wife Lydia.

Mitch Hill was hired as the director of operations in April of 2021 after spending time at Western Carolina as the director of operations for the Catamounts during the 2020-21 season. He was promoted to assistant coach in July of 2022. Hill is another familiar face to the Winthrop program as he spent three seasons under Pat Kelsey prior to heading to Cullowhee, N.C. In those three seasons, Hill worked as the team's video coordinator in 2016-17 and director of basketball operations in 2017-18 and 2018-19. While at Winthrop, Hill was a part of an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016-17 and worked with two Big South Player of the Year selections in Keon Johnson (2016-17) and Xavier Cooks (2017-18). Hill and Prosser worked together on the Winthrop staff between 2016-2018. Prior to his stint at Winthrop, Hill spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Tennessee Tech. The 2015-16 TTU squad went 19-12 and qualified for the postseason for the seventh time in program history as they participated in the Vegas 16 tournament. A three-year basketball letterwinner at Tennessee Tech, Hill saw action in 43 career games including all 29 games during his sophomore year. During the 2012-13 season, he helped lead the Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind victory at Eastern Illinois thanks to three made 3-pointers in 29 minutes, both career highs. He excelled in the classroom, earning a spot on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll eight times and the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll three times. Hill was the recipient of the teams' John P. Hendrix Leadership Award during his senior season of 2013-14. A native of Cookeville, Tenn., Hill is the leading scorer at Cookeville High School with 1,649 career points. He averaged 22 points, six assists, and two steals per game during a senior season that saw him earn the District 6-AAA MVP award along with All-Region laurels and a spot in the Senior TCAT East-West All-Star Game. HIll resides in Rock Hill with his wife Dylan (Patterson), who is an assistant soccer coach at Winthrop.

Sid Crist joined the men's basketball coaching staff on August 18th, 2025 as an assistant coach.    Prior to joining the Eagles staff, Crist spent one season as an associate head coach, four seasons as an assistant coach, and two seasons as a graduate assistant at the University of Pikeville. During his first year on the staff UPIKE (2018-19) finished with a 25-9 record and reached the Elite 8 of the NAIA National Championship Tournament.  In Crist’s last season at UPIKE, they amassed a 25-7 record and a regular season conference championship. During Crist’s tenure at UPIKE they held a record of 152-73 and appeared in 5 out of 7 national tournaments.  Crist was vital in the recruitment and develop of multiple All-Conference and All-American players including Bradley Bunch, Keian Worrix, Issac Stanback, LA Walker, Luke Layhew, and Jayvian Delacruz.   After playing for one season at Glenville State during the 2012-13 season, Crist decided to embark on a coaching career.  He served as a student assistant coach at Fairmont State for three years between 2013-2016. Crist served as the director of basketball operations at Fairmont and was also charged with day-to-day coaching duties. The Falcons had a 67-26 mark during his three years in Fairmont and made two NCAA Tournament appearances. Crist coached a pair of NBA G-League players in Thomas Wimbish and Jamel Morris as well as All-American Matt Bingaya.   During the 2016-17 season, Crist was an assistant coach at the University of Charleston. Crist handled multiple duties at the school, including scouting, recruiting, operations as well as day-to-day coaching duties, including the development and implementation of a post player skill program. The Golden Eagles were 16-14 during his season at UC and he coached an all-league post player in Justin Coleman.   Crist was an assistant coach at West Virginia Wesleyan during the 2017-18 season. His duties included all recruiting and scouting for the Bobcats.   During his collegiate coaching career Crist’s teams are a combined 254-146 (64%) with seven national tournament appearances. A native of Ansted, W. Va., Crist was a standout point guard for Midland Trail High School, playing for his father, Greg Crist. During his career Midland Trail, he had an overall 62-20 record and qualified for three state tournaments, making it to the Final 4 during his senior year.   Crist is a graduate of Fairmont State University with a degree in Business Administration. He obtained his master’s degree in Business Administration during his two years as a graduate assistant at UPIKE. Crist lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina.