Georgia Tech’s Scott Cross adds to basketball coaching staff

Staff Reports

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s basketball head coach Scott Cross has announced the addition of five coaches to his staff including Wes Flanigan and Kenneth Mangrum as associate head coaches, and Brandon Gilbert, Kelvin Lewis and Chris Kreider as assistant coaches.

A top recruiter and player development coach with storied success, Flanigan joins the Georgia Tech men’s basketball staff as an associate head coach.

“I have known Coach Wes Flanigan for over 10 years and have always admired him as a coach and a recruiter,” Cross said. “He has recruited some of the top players in the country from Atlanta and will be instrumental in our recruiting process of high-level student-athletes that will help us win championships. Wes has worked with some of the brightest minds in basketball and will also be a great asset on the court for us. He will fit right in with the rest of our staff as we hit the ground running.”

Flanigan comes to The Flats after premier stops at Ole Miss (2023-26), Auburn (2018-23), Mississippi State (2012-15) and Nebraska (2010-12). The veteran coach has also had stints at Arkansas Little Rock, as both head coach (2016-18) and assistant coach (2015-16, 2004-08), and UAB (2008-10).

In his 22 seasons coaching at the collegiate level, Flanigan has helped lead teams to eight postseason appearances, 10 20-plus win seasons, and mentored multiple players to professional careers.

“I am elated to be a part of a Scott Cross led program, especially at a prestigious school like Georgia Tech in one of the best cities in the world,” said Flanigan. “There is a lot of work to be done and I am so excited to be a part of it!”

Most recently serving at Ole Miss, Flanigan helped the Rebels to back-to-back 20-win seasons in Oxford, highlighted by a Sweet 16 appearance in 2025. His inaugural season at Ole Miss saw the Rebels open with a record 13-0 start in non-conference play and culminate with a 20-win season in year one. This past season, Flanigan helped the Rebels make an SEC Tournament run, winning three games in three days to reach the semifinals, becoming the first team seeded 15 or higher to make the semifinal round of a conference tournament in Division I history.

In five seasons at Auburn, the Tigers compiled a 117-49 record with four 20-plus win seasons, three NCAA Tournament appearances (2020 canceled due to Covid-19) and an SEC Tournament Championship. He also mentored NBA draft selections Chuma Okeke, JT Thor, Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler, while guiding his son, Allen, to become the most improved scorer in the SEC in 2021-22. In just one season, Allen turned his offensive output from 3.2 points per game as a freshman to 14.3 points per game as a sophomore.

Despite the 2019-20 postseason being canceled, Auburn went 25-6 overall and finished second in the SEC. Auburn became one of just four major programs to record three consecutive 25-win seasons, joining Duke, Kansas and Kentucky. The 2020-21 season was led by Samir Doughty, who became the first All-SEC first team selection since 1999, and Isaac Okoro, who was just the sixth player in SEC history to be named to an all-conference team, all-defensive team and all-freshman team in the same season. After losing five of their top eight scorers from the 2019 Final Four team, Flanigan and the staff signed a consensus top-10 recruiting class in 2020, highlighted by the highest-rated recruit in program history in five-star Sharife Cooper, the third McDonald’s All-American at Auburn.

In Flanigan’s first season at Auburn (2018-19), the Tigers recorded one of the most historic seasons in program history after reaching the program’s first-ever Final Four. Auburn was the first team ever to defeat the three winningest teams in NCAA history in consecutive games at the NCAA Tournament, uprooting Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina on the historic run. The Tigers also claimed their second Southeastern Conference Tournament title in program history and first since 1985. The season was also highlighted by the signing of another top-10 recruiting class in November, highlighted by five four-star players.

Prior to his time at Auburn, Flanigan was the head coach at the University of Arkansas Little Rock for two seasons, after being elevated from assistant when Chris Beard left for Texas Tech. It was his second stint in Little Rock as Flanigan was also on staff as an assistant from 2004-08. In his combined seven seasons with the Trojans (2004-08, 2015-18), Flanigan helped Little Rock set program records for wins, Sun Belt Conference victories and road wins. He was a key factor in helping the Trojans win their first-ever outright Sun Belt title in 2015-16 to earn the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid where they knocked off No. 5 seed Purdue. Little Rock finished the season with a 30-5 overall record, marking the third time in Flanigan’s tenure the Trojans recorded 18 or more wins (20 wins in 2007-08 and 18 wins his first season in 2004-05).

In between his stops at Little Rock, Flanigan served two seasons as an assistant at UAB (2008-10), helping the Blazers to 47 wins, while matching the program record for wins in a season with 25 in 2009-10, and a pair of NIT appearances.

From UAB, Flanigan spent two years in the same capacity at Nebraska (2010-12) before joining Mississippi State from 2012-15.

Flanigan got his first start in coaching at Northwest Mississippi Community College where he was an assistant from 1994-2004.

The 1992-93 Gatorade High School Player of the Year, Flanigan was a four-year letterwinner at Auburn (1993-97) as the starting point guard. He capped his collegiate career with 1,228 career points and still remains second in the record books with 573 career assists. He also remains fourth in career free throws (338).

The Little Rock, Ark., native was the Southeastern Conference individual assist champion in 1996 when he dished out 214 dimes for an average of 6.7 per game. Flanigan earned All-SEC honors as a junior in 1996 and was voted to the All-SEC Freshman Team in 1994.

Flanigan graduated from Auburn with a degree in health promotion and was the recipient of the Cliff Hare Award, presented annually to the university’s top student-athlete.

A collegiate coaching veteran with over 17 years of experience, Mangrum has been added to the Georgia Tech men’s basketball staff as an associate head coach.

“Coach Mangrum was a member of my staff in Arlington during the most successful time in the history of the program where we won 72 games in three years, including a conference championship, as well as two wins in the NIT,” said Cross. “In addition to Arlington, he was part of turning programs around also at Troy and Vanderbilt. At Troy, he helped build our first two 20-win seasons before helping Vanderbilt return to prominence as a top-25 program. Coach Mangrum has always recruited the Atlanta area and understands the challenges and opportunities of recruiting at the very highest level.”

Mangrum arrives at Georgia Tech following a two-year stint at Vanderbilt where he helped the Commodores to 47 combined wins and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in nearly a decade. Under the direction of head coach Mark Byington, Vanderbilt turned a program that went 9-23 in 2023-24 into a top-25 program just a season later, entering the Associated Press poll for the first time since 2015 and finished the 2024-25 season with 20 wins and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. This past season, the Commodores compiled a 27-9 overall record, reached the SEC Tournament Championship game and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to Vanderbilt, Mangrum spent the 2023-24 season as associate head coach at New Mexico State. From 2018-23 (five seasons), Mangrum was at Troy, serving as an assistant coach for three seasons before being elevated to associate head coach his final two. Mangrum overlapped with Cross for four seasons as a Trojan. In his final two, the Trojans recorded their first back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Mangrum also had stops at Texas Southern (2017-18), helping guide the Tigers to a 24-14 mark and 14-4 ledger in conference play, and UT Arlington (2013-17) for four seasons. During his time at UT Arlington, Mangrum and Cross led the Mavericks to success, setting a program-record with its 27-9 season in 2016-17 and claiming the Sun Belt Regular Season Championship. In four seasons at UTA, the Mavericks went 88-58 and advanced to the postseason twice. 

Before UT Arlington, Mangrum was at Sam Houston for the 2012-13 season, helping the Bearkats to a 24-11 record, an appearance in the Southland Conference championship game and its first postseason win at the Division I level.

“I’m excited to be rejoining Coach Cross’s staff as he has been a consistent winner at every stop,” Mangrum said. “Georgia Tech has a rich tradition of success and I believe in the vision of Coach Cross and the administration to restoring the men’s basketball program back to prominence.”

A native of Waco, Texas, Mangrum got his start at the collegiate level at Angelo State where he served as an assistant from 2007-13. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from North Texas where he played four seasons (1998-2002) for the Mean Green, playing in 100 games and where he still ranks in the top-15 in career steals (106). 

Gilbert, a coaching veteran with 20 years of experience, was a member of Cross’s staff at Troy for the past six seasons (2020-26), helping the Trojans to five-straight 20-win seasons, three postseason appearances and back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular-season championships and tournament championships. Troy was the only team in the Sun Belt during the 2025-26 campaign to record four-straight 20-win seasons and 10 or more conference wins.

“I am extremely excited that Brandon Gilbert will be joining our staff here at Georgia Tech,” Cross said. “Coach Gilbert has been a huge part of our success over the last few years at Troy. He has been in charge of developing all of our post players, and he has done an outstanding job in that area. In addition, he will be on the road recruiting where he has already shown the ability to sign a conference MVP when Tayton Conerway won the honor in 2025! Coach Gilbert has been on my staff for each of my 20-win seasons over the past five years, and he played a big part in us winning back-to-back conference regular-season and conference championships.”

During the last five seasons, Troy finished higher than its projection in the Sun Belt preseason polls, placing top-5 in the conference each season. The Trojans returned to the postseason in 2021-22 with a trip to the College Basketball Invitational, the first postseason appearance since 2016-17, after posting a 20-11 overall record. After consecutive quarterfinal appearances in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament the next two years, the Trojans would return to national recognition with back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships in 2025 and 2026.

Troy erased an eight-point second-half deficit in the Sun Belt Championship game in 2025 to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five seasons. The Trojans repeated its postseason success in 2026, claiming the regular season championship after being picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, and upending Georgia Southern in the tournament title game to their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

During his time at Troy, Gilbert was instrumental in the Trojans’ recruiting classes, including the 2021 class that helped Troy to its first postseason bid and 20-win season in five years. He also helped sign Troy’s first-ever Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year when Tayton Conerway won the honor in 2025. Conerway was also tabbed All-Sun Belt First Team that same season.

“I want to thank Coach Cross for giving me the opportunity to join his staff here at Georgia Tech,” Gilbert said. “We had tremendous success previously and I am excited to carry the winning culture to The Flats. Georgia Tech has a rich history in men’s basketball and I am grateful to be a part of the program.”

Before his stint at Troy, Gilbert worked in the high school ranks as both a head coach and assistant coach for 14 years. He was a two-time Texas District 6 6A Coach of the Year after leading Arlington Lamar High School to a 2020 District 6A championship. He also earned the honor after leading Killeen Shoemaker High School to the 2018 district title.

A Madisonville, Texas native, Gilbert spent 11 years as an assistant coach before being named the head coach at Killeen Shoemaker High School in 2017-18, a role he held for two seasons. He spent the 2019-20 season at Arlington Lamar High School. But he began his coaching career at Athens (Texas) High School from 2006-09 before joining the staff at South Grand Prairie (Texas) High School, where he broke through as defensive engineer. In 2013, Gilbert helped lead South Grand Prairie to a Class 6A state championship and two regional finalist finishes.

A two-year letterwinner at North Texas (1998-2000), Gilbert was known as a defensive specialist, rebounder and finisher. He transferred to North Texas from Kilgore College, where he spent two seasons (1996-98) and led the Rangers to a No. 3 overall ranking in 1998.

Gilbert earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in criminal justice from North Texas in 2000.

Lewis, who produced a long-standing professional playing career before joining the coaching ranks, was with Cross at Troy since 2023-24 (three seasons), overseeing player development.

“Kelvin Lewis is one of the best player development coaches that I have been around,” noted Cross. “He is also one of the best up and coming coaches in the country. He is very well connected in Atlanta and has shown to be a tremendous recruiter. Kelvin is one of the most well-rounded coaches that I have had the privilege of coaching alongside and he will be a great asset for the Georgia Tech men’s basketball program.”

Lewis enjoyed a 17-year playing career between the collegiate and professional levels before transitioning to assistant coach in 2023. Managing player development at Troy, Lewis helped the Trojans to three-straight 20-win campaigns and back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships. The Trojans finished in the top three of the conference standings each season with Lewis and earned consecutive NCAA Tournament automatic berths.

With Lewis on staff, several Trojans garnered conference honors including three specialty awards: 2025 Player of the Year – Tayton Conerway, 2024 Freshman of the Year – Myles Risgby and 2024 Sixth Man of the Year – Tayton Conerway. Additionally, four Trojans collected all-conference honors, including three first-team accolades.

Prior to his tenure at Troy, Lewis spent 13 years playing professionally, which included two years competing in the G-League with the Texas Legends and Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Following his time in the G-League, Lewis played overseas with stops in Sweden, Finland, Romania, Greece, Hungary, Iceland and Germany. He concluded his playing career in Austria where he played for SKN St. Polten from 2019-23.

During his professional playing career, Lewis was a 2012 NBA G-League champion, two-time Korisliiga (Finland) champion (2014, 2018), the Korisliiga Defensive Player of the Year (2014), a Romanian Cup winner (2015) and the 2018 Urvalsdeild scoring champion (25.4 points). In total, he finished his professional playing career with five championships and 5,450 career points.

“I want to thank Georgia Tech and Coach Cross,” Lewis commented. “This is a historic program that I grew up watching and it’s a dream to be here. I’m excited to get to work.”

Lewis was a three-year letterwinner at Houston (2007-10) where he was named the 2010 C-USA Championship Most Valuable Player after helping the Cougars win the championship over UTEP by scoring 28 points on 11-15 shooting to clinch an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Lewis was also named to the 2010 C-USA Championship All-Tournament Team, and was voted 2009 All-Conference USA Third Team and 2009 C-USA All-Defensive Team. While at Houston, Lewis became the 42^nd player in school history to surpass 1,000-career points, finishing 14^th on the career scoring list with 1,465 points. He was also No. 3 all-time in three-point field goals made with 251.

Lewis began his collegiate playing career at Auburn (2006-07) before transferring to Houston. In his four-year collegiate career, Lewis averaged 11.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 40.6 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from three-point range and 81.5 percent from the free throw line.

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Lewis graduated from Houston in 2010 with a degree in kinesiology.

Kreider brings over 20 years of coaching experience at multiple levels to The Flats for his second stint at Georgia Tech.

“After speaking with Coach Lanier at Rice, I knew Chris was the right guy for my staff,” said Cross. “He has Atlanta connections from his time as an assistant coach at Georgia State, and he even spent a couple of his early years on staff at Georgia Tech. Chris knows and studies the game and will be a huge asset to our basketball program both on and off the basketball court.”

Entering his 20^th season as a collegiate coach, Kreider spent the last two seasons at Rice (2024-26) as an associate head coach for Rob Lanier in his second stint on South Main. Kreider also had stops as an assistant coach at SMU (2022-24), Georgia State (2019-22), Rice (2017-19), Virginia Military Institute (2015-17), George Mason (2011-15), Georgia Southern (2009-11) and USC Aiken (2006-07).

Throughout his coaching career, Kreider has helped recruit multiple mid-major top-25 recruiting classes, served as recruiting coordinator at six programs and placed an emphasis on player development, helping several to professional careers including Max Fiedler (BC Oostende, previously in G League), Trey Murphy (New Orleans Pelicans), Quincy Olivari (Motor City Cruise – G League) and Drew Peterson (Motor City Cruise – G League).

“My family and I are incredibly excited to return home to Atlanta and back to Georgia Tech with Coach Cross,” Kreider said. “I believe in his vision and look forward to getting to work with the outstanding staff he has assembled. This is truly a dream come true and I am extremely grateful for this opportunity.”

Kreider most recently spent two seasons at Rice for his second stay with the Owls in an elevated role of associate head coach. He transitioned back to Rice after two seasons at SMU (2022-24) where he was an assistant coach, helping revitalize the Mustangs’ program. During the 2023-24 season, SMU finished with a 20-13 overall record, including an 11-7 American Athletic Conference mark, doubling the Mustangs’ win total from just the season prior. The Mustangs capped the 2024 season with a berth to the NIT after leading the AAC in field goal percentage defense (.413), assists (15.7), rebounding margin (+5.1), offensive rebounds (14.5) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4). His first season at SMU saw the Mustangs post a runner-up finish at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic before the staff brought in the No. 2-ranked transfer class in The American.

During three seasons at Georgia State (2019-22), the Panthers went 53-30 with three-straight winning seasons and two Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game appearances, capturing the 2022 title and finishing runner-up in 2021. The Panthers returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2022 for their sixth program appearance in the Big Dance. His first season in Atlanta saw Georgia State collect 19 wins, highlighted by the program’s first-ever victory over an ACC opponent and winning the 2K Empire Classic Riverside Regional.

Kreider had his first stint at Rice from 2017-19 as an assistant coach where he helped recruit a pair of top-five recruiting classes (fourth (2018), third (2019)) in Conference USA according to 247Sports. The Owls saw success both on and off the court during Kreider’s tenure, as guard Chris Mullins was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team, while 16 student-athletes placed their names on the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, highlighted by Connor Cashaw’s All-Academic Team recognition in 2017-18.

At Virginia Military Institute (2015-17), Kreider served as the recruiting coordinator and post coach after four seasons at George Mason (2011-15). During his time in Fairfax, he helped the Patriots to a pair of 20-win seasons and a run to the College Basketball Invitational championship series in 2012-13. George Mason also inked a pair of highly-ranked recruiting classes under Kreider as the 2011 incoming class was tabbed the No. 10 mid-major class by ESPN.com and the 2014 class was touted as one of the A-10’s top recruiting classes.

Prior to George Mason, Kreider spent two seasons at Georgia Southern as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Kreider served his first stint in Atlanta from 2007-09 at Georgia Tech, holding administrative assistant and volunteer assistant coaching positions on The Flats.

From 2006-07, Kreider was at USC Aiken as an assistant coach after working three years at St. Francis High School (Alpharetta, Ga.) where he held coaching positions for the men’s and women’s basketball teams (2003-04 assistant; 2004-05 women’s coach; 2005-06 men’s coach). He got his start in coaching as an assistant coach at the University of Great Falls in 2002-03.

A native of Hummelstown, Pa., Kreider started as a small forward at three colleges, playing one year at Mansfield University before transferring to Grove City College (Pa.). He led the Wolverines in his junior season in scoring (12.3 ppg) and steals (52). Kreider finished his playing and academic career at Lebanon Valley College, earning a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish in 2003.