Ben Asher is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Youngstown State men's basketball program.
He helped lead the Penguins to a regular-season conference championship after guiding the Penguins to an overall record of 24-10 and a 15-5 league mark en route to the Horizon League Championship.
The 24 wins tied the program record for most wins in a season and the 15 Horizon League victories also set the record for most conference wins.
For the second straight season, Asher was named on the Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches in Division I Basketball by Silver Waves Media.
He helped the Penguins to 19 wins in 2021-22, which were also the most since 2000-01 and set a school record for most wins as members of the Horizon League. The Penguins also set a school record for most conference wins with 12.
In 2021-22, Youngstown State also tied the Division I record for most home wins with 13 and secured the program’s second postseason berth in three years with an appearance in the inaugural The Basketball Classic. The Penguins also won its second postseason game with a 70-65 victory over Morgan State.
Asher was also named one of the Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches in Division I Basketball by Silver Waves Media.
Asher spent the last five seasons at Rutgers, most recently serving as the Director of Basketball Operations and Recruiting for two years. He also served three seasons as Special Assistant to the Head Coach with the Scarlet Knights.
With Asher on staff, the Scarlet Knights program has achieved new heights and, in 2020-21, qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years.
Among Asher’s many responsibilities were serving as liaison to the athletic department at large, including the areas of communications, RVision, marketing, creative, business operations and facilities management.
He played an integral role in the program’s social media outreach and recruiting initiatives. The Scarlet Knights welcomed a four-recruit signing class in 2018 that included multiple four-star players for the first time at Rutgers since 2008. RU has signed four-star recruits from New Jersey in three consecutive classes, with Ron Harper, Jr. (2018), Paul Mulcahy (2019) and Cliff Omoruyi (2020) all electing to stay home.
Asher was instrumental in supervising the program’s student managers, facilitating team travel, and the development and execution of team camps. During his tenure “On the Banks,” he has aided in the resurgence of the program by helping to cultivate an environment based upon relationships and results.
In 2020, Asher was named to the NABC 30-Under-30 Team.
As Special Assistant to the Head Coach, Asher provided executive level support to Steve Pikiell, while assisting in the overall management of administrative duties and daily functions of the men's basketball office.
Prior to Rutgers, Asher spent a season serving as Director of Operations at Siena under Jimmy Patsos. The Saints posted a 21-13 overall record and competed in the CBI postseason tournament. He was instrumental in the day-to-day activities of the team, including travel, practices, meals, facility use, team camps and recruiting.
An Oyster Bay, N.Y. native, Asher spent two seasons (2013-15) in the ACC as a graduate assistant at N.C. State under Mark Gottfried. The Wolfpack advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2015, after reaching the ACC quarterfinal and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014.
Prior to arriving in Raleigh, Asher worked as the head student manager at West Virginia, where he earned a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree in 2013. Under head coach Bob Huggins, the Mountaineers won the Big East Tournament Championship and advanced to the Final Four in 2010, while also earning NCAA berths in 2011 and 2012.
(Pulled from Youngstown State's Website)
