CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Canisius director of men’s basketball operations Jake Kroll has been named to the 2017-18 Under Armour 30-under-30 honor list, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced Tuesday. The Under Armour 30-under-30 recognizes a group of up-and-coming young men’s basketball coaches.
Kroll, who just completed his second season on the Canisius men’s basketball coach staff, is the only honoree to represent a school from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). In his time on the bench at Canisius, the Lancaster, N.Y., native has been a part of 39 total victories, 25 of which came in league play, a MAAC regular-season championship in 2017-18 and back-to-back appearances in the national postseason.
“This is a tremendous honor for Jake, especially because he is just really getting into his professional coaching career,” Canisius head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “To be recognized by your peers, and by an organization as prestigious as the NABC, it speaks volumes about the role that he plays within our program and how important that role is to the success of our operation on and off the court.”
As the director of basketball operations at Canisius, Kroll is responsible for handling the team’s day-to-day operations, which includes practice set-up, team travel plans, video film exchange, opponent breakdown and scouting reports, while also assisting with academic progress for the team’s student-athletes. He serves the director for the Canisius Boy’s Basketball Camps and he also assists with the administration of the program’s team camp and elite player camp, held each summer in the Koessler Athletic Center.
Kroll joined the Canisius staff after spending the 2015-16 campaign at Daemen College. With the Wildcats, he was involved in all aspects of the program, including on-floor coaching, recruiting and scouting of opponents. Prior to his time at Daemen, Kroll served as the assistant video coordinator for the men’s basketball program at the University of Alabama for one year. In that role with the Crimson Tide, he worked closely with the team’s coaching staff, preparing and editing video scouting reports on opponents while also breaking down Alabama practice and game film for self-scouting purposes.
Prior to his time in Tuscaloosa, Kroll served as the varsity team assistant coach at Park School of Buffalo during 2013-14 season.
Kroll graduated cum laude with his bachelor’s degree in communication from the University at Buffalo in 2015 and he will earn his master’s degree in sport administration from the College in two weeks.