RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) head men's basketball coach Kahil Fennell announced on Monday the hiring of Dustin Yoder, who was an assistant coach/offensive coordinator the last two seasons at UC Riverside, as an assistant coach.
 
Yoder, who was named one of Silver Waves Media's 75 Rising Stars Impactful Men's Mid-Major Assistants in both seasons at UC Riverside, helped the Highlanders to 16 wins last season, including 10 of them at home. Yoder guided Barrington Hargress to Big West Freshman of the Year honors, marking back-to-back years guiding a player to those honors after Lachlan Olbrich earned it in 2022-23. 
 
In his first season with UC Riverside, Yoder helped the Highlanders to their best season in program history at the Division I level as they recorded 22 wins, including 19 in Big West play.
 
"Dustin is a hugely important piece to our staff and we're fortunate that he is joining us in the Valley," Fennell said. "Starting as a graduate assistant at Kansas State, Dustin has embarked on a steady rise through the college basketball ranks and at all stops, has demonstrated a tremendous ability to recruit and relate to players. He has a terrific feel for offense and will be a huge asset for us on that side of the floor. We're thrilled that Dustin is a part of our program."
 
Prior to his tenure at UC Riverside, Yoder spent two seasons (2020-22) at Southeast Missouri as an assistant coach. Yoder helped the Redhawks to 25 wins in his two seasons, including 17 in the Ohio Valley Conference, after the program won just eight in the two seasons prior. 
 
"My family is incredibly thankful for the opportunity Coach Fennell has given us to join the UTRGV men's basketball program," Yoder said. "We are excited to build a first class program and atmosphere for the Rio Grande Valley community. It's time to #RallyTheValley!"
 
Prior to joining the staff at Southeast Missouri, Yoder was the associate head coach at Cal State San Bernadino for two seasons (2018-20) with Andy Newman, where he helped the program to a combined 36 wins, including 21 in 2019-20.
 
Prior to moving to Cal State Bernadino, Yoder was with Newman at UT Permian Basin (UTPB)  in 2017-18 as his top assistant coach. Yoder helped the Falcons to a program record tying 26 wins and guided the program to their first-ever Sweet 16 appearance. 
 
Before joining UTPB, Yoder spent five seasons at Kansas State starting out as a graduate assistant before being promoted to video coordinator under head coach Bruce Weber. Yoder was key in helping Kansas State to 100 wins, three NCAA Tournament appearances, and a Big 12 Championship in 2012-13.
 
Yoder started his coaching career in 2011-12 as an assistant coach at Parkland Junior College. Prior to that, Yoder spent three seasons (2008-11) as a student manager at Illinois for Weber, including serving as top manager in 2010-11. 
 
Prior to enrolling at Illinois, Yoder played two seasons at Lake Land Junior College in Matoon, Illinois. Yoder finished his high school career as the all-time leading scorer (1,517 points) at Okaw High School in Bethany, Illinois.
 
Yoder received his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from Illinois in 2011 and completed his Master's in College Student Development & Academic Advising from Kansas State in 2014.  

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