At a Glance
Head Coach David Riley enters his second season at WSU in 2025-26 and fifth season as a Division-I head coach. Riley was named the 20th men’s basketball coach in Washington State history, April 2, 2024, and began his Cougar career with a 19-15 first-season record and postseason berth to the College Basketball Crown.
Over four seasons as a Division-I head coach, Riley has amassed an 81-53 record with two conference titles and three postseason appearances. Riley was named the back-to-back Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year prior to his arrival on the Palouse. In his first season at WSU, Riley guided the Cougar program to a fourth-consecutive postseason berth, setting school records with 968 field goals and 574 assists in his free-flowing offensive scheme. Riley’s Cougs scored 2,683 points – the second-most points by a Cougar men’s team in a single season in program history. In the 2025 NBA Draft, WSU’s Cedric Coward was selected as the No. 11 overall pick, going in the first round as the highest Cougar NBA selection since Klay Thompson was drafted 11th in 2011.
Riley spent 13 years in Cheney, Washington, beginning as a graduate assistant, eventually being promoted to the role of head coach in 2021 after 10 seasons as an assistant in the program. During his time at EWU, the Eagles achieved unprecedented success, earning two trips to the NCAA Tournament and earning five Big Sky Conference MVP honors. As a player, Riley was a four-year starter and feared shooter at D-III Whitworth University in Spokane. He was born in Seattle and grew up on Stanford University’s campus in California. He graduated from Whitworth in 2011 with a degree in mathematical economics, then earned a master’s degree in physical education (sport administration) from Eastern in 2013.
Coaching Summary
- 2024-present: Head Coach (Washington State)
- 2021-24: Head Coach (Eastern Washington)
- 2014-21: Assistant Coach (Eastern Washington)
- 2013-14: Director of Basketball Operations (Eastern Washington)
- 2011-13: Graduate Assistant (Eastern Washington)
Coaching Accolades & Accomplishments
- 2023-24 Big Sky Coach of the Year
- 2022-23 Big Sky Coach of the Year
- 2021-22 Joe B. Hall Award finalist (top D-I first year coach)
- One (1) NBA selection (Cedric Coward, 2025, No. 11)
- One (1) Big Sky MVP (Steele Venters, 2022-23)
- Three (3) First Team All-Big Sky selections
- Four (4) Second Team All-Big Sky
- Two (2) Third Team All-Big Sky
- One (1) Honorable Mention All-Big Sky
- Two (2) Big Sky Freshman of the Year (Ethan Price, 2021-22; LeJuan Watts 2023-24)
- Two (2) Big Sky Tournament MVPs
- Nine (9) Big Sky All-Tournament Team
Playing Summary
- 2007-11: Whitworth University (Division III; Spokane, Wash.)
Playing Accolades
- Three-time All-NWC (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11)
- D3hoops.com Third Team All-Region (2010-11)
- 1,664 points (14.6 per game), 4th in Whitworth history at time of departure. 43.1% 3PT shooting.
