UAlbany Alum Stephen Sauers Named Top Men’s Basketball Assistant At UC-Riverside
RIVERSIDE, Calif.- A big step has been taken for a University at Albany alum in the sport of men’s basketball. A 1990 UAlbany alum, Stephen Sauers, has been named the top men’s basketball assistant at the University of California-Riverside.
Coincidentally, Sauers will join the staff of his four-year Great Dane teammate Dennis Cutts (Massapequa, N.Y.). Cutts was named interim head coach at UC-Riverside when previous head coach Jim Wooldridge was tabbed the interim Athletics Director on July 10.
This move for Sauers was a big one in the sport of college men’s basketball. The 23-year veteran was serving as the Director of Basketball Operations at Seton Hall for the last five seasons. Now, Sauers will be the right-hand man for Cutts as the top assistant when normally DBO’s become either the third or second assistant on a staff before moving up.
Sauers’ long background in coaching began at Marist upon his graduation from Albany in 1990. He served under former Red Fox head coach and current Army women’s coach Dave Magarity from 1990-2004. Sauers moved up the ladder during his tenure at Marist, starting as a graduate assistant coach, a full-time assistant by 1993, senior assistant coach in 1996, and associate head coach in 2001.
Marist enjoyed both an NIT appearance in 1996 and a MAAC regular season championship in 2000 during his tenure in Poughkeepsie. Sauers was responsible for recruiting 15 All-MAAC performers at Marist. He was instrumental in signing the core class from the Red Foxes’ 2007 regular season championship team including MAAC Player of the Year and NBA-draftee Jared Jordan and All-MAAC performers Will Whittington and Ryan Stilphen.
In 2004-05, Sauers was the head coach at the United States Military Academy Prep School in Fort Monmouth, NJ, leading the team to a school-best, 16-7 record.
In addition to his responsibilities at Marist, Sauers also gained international coaching experience, coaching for the Nigerian National Team as an assistant from 1992-96. His father, Richard “Doc” Sauers, was a legendary coach at UAlbany from 1956-97, winning over 700 games.
He is a 1990 graduate of UAlbany, with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. While a player at UAlbany under his father, Sauers was a two-year starter and helped his team to a four-year record of 77-34. He currently ranks No. 5 all-time on the Great Danes’ assist list with 386 and still holds the single-game record for assists with 15.
