Athletics

Richard Grant has been named Palm Beach State College’s new head coach for men’s basketball.

Grant will officially begin his duties on Aug. 1. He replaces Martin McCann, who was the head coach for the past five years.

Grant was chosen for the role after a national search.

“Coach Grant impressed me with his passion and commitment to fostering a brand new program that is high caliber, highly competitive and student centered,” said Mareta Iosia-Sizemore, interim athletics director.

Grant comes to PBSC from Broward College, where he was the top assistant coach under head coach Anthony Anderson. During his tenure, Broward basketball went 16-12, beating two top-10 nationally ranked teams. The following six Broward players received All-Conference honors under his supervision: Deandre Pickney, C.J. Roberts, D’Rell Roberts, Rodney Ray, Jongkor Ajonga and Bralyn James. As the lead recruiter for Broward, Grant was able to land several NCAA Division I transfers. On the court, he implemented a new defensive system, which led to one of the lowest offensive scoring margins in NJCAA Region 8.

Before his time at Broward College, Grant served as the director of basketball operations for Wagner College from 2015-2016. His team was the regular-season champion and earned a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, where they took down number one overall seed St. Bonaventure. Additionally, he successfully managed a large budget, created scouting reports, and supervised three undergraduate assistants.

Grant also served as the head basketball coach for Team Knight 17U. He also spent time at New Mexico Military Institute as an assistant coach, where he was again lauded for his defensive scheme that led to a top-10 defensive ranking and nearly propelled the team to a playoff spot.

You can follow Grant on Twitter at @CoachRich_G. For more information on the Palm Beach State men’s basketball team, visit www.pbscpanthers.com.