UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Peter and Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades has announced staff updates ahead of the 2026-27 season, including the promotion of Brent Scott to associate head coach, the additions of Sam Little (video coordinator/player development) and Alex Grumer (assistant director of operations) and title changes for both Patrick Dorney and Jake Szczecina.
Brent Scott – Associate Head Coach
Brent Scott has been elevated to associate head coach as he enters his fourth season at Penn State in 2026-27. Scott served three seasons as assistant coach from 2023-26.
Widely respected throughout college basketball for his elite post player development and extensive recruiting experience, Scott has established himself as one of the nation’s premier frontcourt coaches with deep domestic and international recruiting connections. A former 14-year professional player with significant experience throughout Europe, Scott brings a unique global perspective to roster building and player evaluation while leveraging decades of relationships across the basketball landscape. His proven ability to identify, recruit and develop high-level talent has played a major role in Penn State’s success, including the signing and development of first-round NBA Draft pick Yanic Konan Niederhauser and multiple nationally-ranked recruiting classes.
Scott has worked with Head Coach Mike Rhoades for a decade and came to Happy Valley after serving on Rhoades’ staff at VCU (2017-23) and Rice (2016-17). The former professional player also owns Power Five coaching experience at TCU (2012-16) and LSU (2008-12).
Sam Little – Video Coordinator/Player Development
Sam Little comes to Happy Valley following two seasons as an assistant coach/video coordinator at Western Michigan. Little helped guide the Broncos to their second-straight MAC Tournament appearance in 2024-25, marking Western Michigan’s first back-to-back conference tourney appearances in over 10 years. Guard Chansey Willis Jr. paced the MAC in both scoring and assists in 2024-25 and was named second-team All-MAC, the program's first second-team selection since 2016. Seven Broncos earned Academic All-MAC honors during Little’s two years in Kalamazoo.
Prior to Western Michigan, Little spent the 2023-24 season as the video coordinator at Stanford, where he took charge of all video operations for the program, helped scout opponents and assisted with recruiting operations. Prior to his time with the Cardinal, he was an assistant coach at Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif. during the 2022-23 campaign, where he was responsible for scouting and player development on both sides of the ball. Little also served a stint as the Director of Basketball Operations at Tarleton State. Little was a graduate assistant during the 2021-22 season at Arkansas, where he was responsible for live coding practices and games and assisted with scouting of opposing teams.
Alex Grumer – Assistant Director of Operations
Alex Grumer spent the past three seasons as a student manager for the Nittany Lions, including the 2025-26 season as the head student manager. Grumer helped oversee a team of 10-plus student managers while assisting the Penn State staff with the management of daily practice operations, travel operations, coding of practice and game film and other administrative tasks. Grumer earned his bachelor’s degree in agribusiness management from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business in May 2026.
Additional Staff Updates
Patrick Dorney will now serve as Chief of Staff after spending the last three seasons as Director of Operations. Jake Szczecina will move into the Director of Operations role following a three-year stint as video coordinator.
2026-27 Penn State Men’s Basketball Staff
Head Coach: Mike Rhoades
Associate Head Coach: Brent Scott
Assistant Coach: Talor Battle
Assistant Coach: Dwayne Stephens
Assistant Coach: Clay Conner
General Manager: Scott Pera
Chief of Staff: Patrick Dorney
Director of Operations: Jake Szczecina
Video Coordinator/Player Development: Sam Little
Assistant Director of Operations: Alex Grumer