STANFORD, Calif. – Kyle Smith, the Anne and Tony Joseph Director of Men's Basketball, has announced the addition of Wayne Hunter as an assistant coach.
"Wayne is a rising star on the West Coast in coaching circles. He has played and coached in one of the premier programs over the last 20 years," said Smith. He understands the type of program we are implementing, and he played under the analytics and now he administers them. This creates great buy in from the players. He gives the players a dynamic understanding of what they are going through."
Hunter spent the last two seasons on Smith's staff at Washington State, helping guide the Cougars to a 25-10 mark and second-place finish in the Pac-12 in 2023-24. The Cougars received a No. No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the round of 32 with a victory over Drake in the opening round. The Cougars played in the NIT during Hunter's first season on staff.
During his two years on the Palouse, Hunter's Cougars earned four All-Pac-12 selections including Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American Myles Rice in 2024 and NBA Draft selection Mouhamed Gueye in 2023.
"Wayne has tremendous teaching skills as he started in coaching at the high school level," continued Smith. "I believe being a head coach already gives him great perspective and experience which most don't have at his age. Additionally, Wayne is from the Bay Area, which is our home base, and he is beloved throughout the area."
Prior to his arrival in Pullman, Hunter spent the 2021-22 season at Saint Mary's where he helped the Gaels to a 26-8 record and capped off the regular season at home with a win over top-ranked Gonzaga. The Gaels were a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the highest in program history, while reaching the second round.
Hunter got his collegiate coaching start in two seasons at UC Riverside as an assistant coach, where he helped guide the Highlanders to their most successful season in program history in 2020-21. Taking the lead on defensive analytics and advance scouting of opponents, Hunters' Highlanders ranked among the elite defensive teams in the country, ranking 28th in scoring defense and 23rd in defensive field goal percentage. As a team, the Highlanders landed four players on the All-Big West team. In addition to his coaching, Hunter was instrumental in the recruiting of UCR's highest ranked recruit class in program history, including the Highlanders' first four-star prep signee.
Hunter started his coaching career in the AAU and high school ranks at Kennedy High School, Oakland Technical High School, James Logan High School, and Miramonte High School, as well as leading AAU's West Coast Elite Basketball Nor-Cal. As part of the National Under Armour Association (UAA) Circuit, the West Coast Elite U16 team rated as one of the top teams in the nation routinely ranking in the top-5 nationally among all UAA teams.
As a player, Hunter was a standout combo guard at Saint Mary's where he helped lead the Gaels to three postseason appearances including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2010 as a senior. Kyle Smith was an assistant coach for each of Hunter's four seasons in Moraga. He graduated with a degree in communications in 2010.
He and his wife, Melissa, have a daughter, Maliya, and a son, Wayne.