Pat Monaghan named assistant coach for Cowboys basketball

May 17—LARAMIE — University of Wyoming men's basketball coach Sundance Wicks announced the addition of Pat Monaghan to the coaching staff Friday afternoon.

Monaghan is the second assistant coach to follow Wicks from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to UW after Nic Reynolds joined the Cowboys staff on Wednesday.

Monaghan brings 18 years of coaching experience to Laramie, as he also helped Wicks turnaround Green Bay a season ago.

"I'm very excited to join coach Wicks in Wyoming and continue our vision that we started a year ago," Monaghan said in a news release. "The winning mindset, elite leadership and connection coach Wicks creates toward people is why I'm so excited for this opportunity.

"I look forward to assisting our players and staff in any way possible as we continue to build this time for the Brown and Gold fans throughout this great state. Coach Wicks has shared so many great stories about Wyoming, and now to have an opportunity to live it on a day-to-day basis is something that I really look forward to."

In June 2022, Monaghan was selected to attend the Jay Bilas Coaches Leadership Program. The program was designed to identify and develop up-and-coming coaches who have the potential to be Division I head coaches. The four-day leadership program in Charlotte, North Carolina, was limited to 12 Division I assistant coaches nationwide who have been recognized as rising stars in the profession as assistants.

"This is a TOUGH GUY TOWN, and Coach Monaghan is all of that," Wicks said in the release. "He is THE toughest and most relentless recruiter and competitor I have ever been around. Pat is a gifted teacher, as well, and his weaponry lies on the detailed instruction he provides on the defensive side of the ball. He has a unique gift of solving problems by identifying outside-the-box solutions and has always been a part of winning cultures.

"In this profession, the best ability is availability, and Coach Monaghan is 24/7 like 7-11. If it's Cowboy Tough you want, it's Cowboy Tough you're going to get from Coach P. Help me give a rough and rowdy welcome to the newest member of the Cowboy Culture, Coach Pat Monaghan."

Last season at UWGB, Monaghan helped the Phoenix to an 18-14 record after the program finished at 3-29 during the 2022-23 season. The 15-game turnaround tied for the ninth-best turnaround in NCAA Division I history.

Monaghan also helped mentor numerous players to award-winning seasons at Green Bay. Noah Reynolds, who transferred from UW, was named the Horizon League newcomer of the year, first team All-Horizon League, and NABC District 12 first team All-Region.

For the first time in program history, Green Bay also had two freshmen named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team in David Douglas Jr. and Marcus Hall. Douglas Jr. was named the freshman of the year in the conference.

Monaghan spent four years at Southern Illinois prior to UWGB, helping the Salukis to a 67-55 record from 2019-23, which included 23 wins in 2022-23, the most in program history since the 2006-07 season.

Monaghan was influential in the development of Marcus Domask, who had one the best freshman seasons in Southern Illinois history, earning Freshman All-America honors, along with the league's freshman and newcomer of the year awards. He also was instrumental in signing one of the best recruiting classes that school's history.

Prior to Southern Illinois, Monaghan spent two seasons (2017-19) at Milwaukee. The Panthers were among just a handful of teams to beat nationally ranked Loyola in 2017-18, topping the eventual Final Four-bound Ramblers by 17 points in nonconference play.

Before his stop in the Milwaukee, Monaghan was an assistant for six seasons at Division II powerhouse Minnesota State (2011-17), where he helped the Mavericks to four NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles. He was also the recruiting coordinator for the Mavericks, and 13 players earned All-NSIC honors during his tenure. The team tied the school record with 28 wins in 2012-13 and topped that with a 30-5 mark in 2013-14. The Mavs won 20 or more games in each of his final five campaigns.

He also served as director of basketball operations at Loyola (2010-11) and two years as an assistant at Coffeyville Community College (2008-10), where he helped guide the Ravens to a 46-20 record, including a Jayhawk East Conference Championship in 2009. He spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Wayne State College.

Monaghan played collegiately at Division II Lewis University and led the Flyers in scoring with 14 points per game as a senior in 2005-06. Prior to Lewis, he played two seasons at Harper Junior College and was named third team NJCAA All-American in 2004.