SUNY Niagara adds Starks to Thunderwolves basketball coaching staff

SUNY Niagara added Sanquin Starks to its men’s basketball coaching staff as the Thunderwolves begin building toward the 2026-27 season, strengthening a bench that just guided the program to a 17-10 finish and its 14th NJCAA Region III Division II Final Four appearance in the last 17 years. The athletics department posted the hire July 28 and said Starks will join head coach Bill Beilein and assistant Kareem Brown on the sideline.

The move fits a very specific NJCAA need. Assistant coaches at the junior-college level are not just extra voices in the gym; they help shape recruiting, scouting, practice organization and player development in a sport where rosters can turn over quickly from one year to the next. For SUNY Niagara, adding Starks gives Beilein another coach who can help manage that churn while the Thunderwolves try to stay among the region’s most consistent programs.

Starks brings eight seasons of boys basketball coaching experience in Western New York, working in both Section VI and the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association. SUNY Niagara said he spent the last six seasons, from 2020-21 through 2025-26, as an assistant at Niagara Falls High School under Carlos Bradberry, a stretch that kept him close to one of the area’s deeper basketball pipelines. That background matters for a program that leans on regional connections to identify players who can contribute right away in the NJCAA.

The hire also keeps Starks connected to the same local network that has fed Western New York basketball for years. Social posts tied to the move said he will continue his work with the Niagara Falls Boys & Girls Club and 716 United while taking on the SUNY Niagara role, giving the Thunderwolves an assistant whose reach extends beyond the college gym. For a team coming off another deep postseason push, that combination of recruiting ties, teaching experience and local familiarity is exactly the kind of staffing addition that can shape the next season before the first practice even begins.