Todd Walter Lee (born February 20, 1964) is an American college basketball coach who is the former head coach of the

South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball The South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball team represents the University of South Dakota in NCAA Division I basketball. They are currently members of the Summit League. They are led by head coach Eric Peterson and play their home games at the Sanf ...

team.

Coaching career

Assistant coach (1986–2005)

After graduating from the University of South Dakota in 1986, Lee's first coaching job was as an assistant coach at Southwestern College in California where he stayed until 1989 when he joined

Hank Egan Henry Patrick Egan Jr. (born August 17, 1937) is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head basketball coach at the United States Air Force Academy from 1971 to 1984 and the University of San Diego from 1984 to 1994, compiling a c ...

's staff at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

from 1989 to 1992. Lee then headed to the professional ranks for two seasons as an assistant coach for the

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basketball Ass ...

of the CBA under Eric Musselman. Lee returned to college coaching as an assistant coach under

Pat Douglass Joseph Patrick Douglass (born January 23, 1950) is a retired American basketball coach. He was most recently the men's head coach at UC Irvine from 1997 to 2010. Early life and education Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Douglass moved to Barstow, Ca ...

at Cal State Bakersfield where he was on staff for the Roadrunners 1997 NCAA Division II national title winning squad. Lee followed Douglass to UC Irvine as an assistant coach and was on staff until 2005.

Kentucky Wesleyan (2005–2013)

On May 28, 2005, Lee became head coach at

Kentucky Wesleyan Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. The college is known for its liberal arts programs. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students. History Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kent ...

, an

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

school. Inheriting a program with limited scholarships due to NCAA sanctions, Lee had only 20 wins in his first two seasons. However, in eight seasons at Kentucky Wesleyan, Lee went 154-81 with five straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances from 2008 to 2012, advancing to the Sweet 16 round in 2012.

Grand Canyon assistant (2013–2018)

On April 9, 2013, Lee joined

Dan Majerle Daniel Lewis Majerle (; born September 9, 1965), also known by the nickname "Thunder Dan", is an American former professional basketball player and former coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. He played 14 years in the National Basketball Associat ...

's staff at

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

as the team transitioned to Division I.

South Dakota (2018–2022)

On April 4, 2018 Lee was named the 19th head coach in South Dakota history, replacing Craig Smith, who departed for the

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

head coaching position. Following a second place finish in the Summit League for the 2020–21 season, Lee was named Summit League Coach of the Year. He was fired on March 10, 2022, despite finishing with a 66-52 mark in four seasons.

Arkansas (2022–2024)

After his release from South Dakota, Lee was hired by Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman in 2022 as an assistant coach and director of scouting.

USC (2024–present)

Following the 2023–24 season, Lee followed Musselman to

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

to serve as assistant coach.

Personal life

Lee grew up in

Huron, South Dakota Huron is a city in Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Beadle County. The '' Huron Daily Plainsman'', also referred to as the ''Plainsman'', is the newspaper. The first settlement at Huron was made in 1880. The ci ...

. He has three children; when he took the job at South Dakota in 2018, his wife and children stayed in Arizona.

Head coaching record

References