SIUE assistant expected to take over Frank Phillips basketball job

Frank Phillips appears ready to tap an assistant from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, a hire that would bring Division I bench experience to one of NJCAA Division I Region 5’s more demanding jobs. The Plainsmen went 25-9 overall in 2024-25, finished 11-5 in conference play, and posted an 11-2 mark at home, which leaves little doubt the next coach will inherit a program built to win right away.

That is where the SIUE background matters most. SIUE’s assistant men’s basketball coach posting described the school as the only Division I institution in the St. Louis Metro East and said the athletics department is “on the rise,” a setting that suggests daily exposure to higher-level scouting, player development, and roster management. For Frank Phillips, that kind of experience could change the first days on the job: wider recruiting reach, faster evaluation of transfer and prep prospects, and a sharper sense of how to align a junior-college roster around players who can contribute immediately and still move on to four-year opportunities.

The coaching search also fits a pattern Frank Phillips has already shown. Frank Phillips College Athletics previously announced Jay Bradley as head men’s basketball coach, and HoopDirt later reported Hunter Jenkins as the new head coach after he came from Clarendon College, where he put together back-to-back 20-win seasons and regional appearances. That sequence points to a program willing to keep looking for the right fit, even while holding itself to a high standard in Region 5.

For a JUCO head coach, the recruiting calendar never slows down. A Division I assistant typically arrives with connections to prospects, AUU and prep pipelines, and an understanding of how to build a staff that can cover roster holes quickly. At Frank Phillips, that could affect everything from the pace of play to which guards are trusted late in games, because a coach with four-year experience often brings a more detailed approach to spacing, shot selection, and opponent scouting.

The Plainsmen’s 2024-25 numbers show why the job carries weight. Frank Phillips was 5-4 away from home and 9-3 in neutral-site games, proof that the program has already learned how to travel and survive in different settings. If the SIUE assistant is finalized as the next coach, Frank Phillips will be signaling that it wants more than continuity. It wants a recruiter and evaluator who can keep the Plainsmen in the Region 5 chase while extending their reach into the next class.