Connors State hires Randolph Howell as assistant coach

Connors State added a staffer with junior college roots, Division II experience and a wide recruiting footprint, hiring Randolph Howell as its new assistant men’s basketball coach.

The move gives Cody Hastings a program builder who has worked at Cape Fear Community College, Mars Hill College and East Central University, and who has coached across AAU and high school basketball. The assistant coach position is an 11-month, full-time exempt role that includes recruiting, fundraising, community involvement, student support and summer camps, all under the rules of the NJCAA and the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Howell’s resume starts with production on the floor. At East Central in the 2011-12 season, he averaged 6.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, shot .520 from the field on 65-of-125 attempts, and added 25 assists, 19 steals and five blocks. He returned to Ada, Oklahoma, as a volunteer assistant for the Tigers in 2017-18 after his playing career, then brought that experience into coaching.

Before East Central, Howell spent one season at Mars Hill College in North Carolina and two seasons at Cape Fear Community College. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2015 and a master’s degree in sports administration in 2017 from East Central. Connors State’s assistant is expected to help shape schedules, promote games, support student-athletes and handle the summer-camp side of the program while reporting to the vice president of student affairs and athletic director.

He said his coaching career began in Montgomery County, Maryland, with AAU teams before he moved into high school work, including the JV girls program at Wheaton High School.

The hire also comes on the heels of Connors State naming Hastings as head coach in June. Hastings arrived after seven years at ASU Mid-South, where he spent the last three as head coach and, in 2025-26, guided the Greyhounds to a 27-8 record, Region 2 regular-season and tournament titles, a Central Plains District championship and an NJCAA National Tournament berth.