JONESBORO — Arkansas State Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Jeff Purinton announced Sunday that Ryan Pannone, who has gained a reputation over the course of his 23-year career as one of the nation’s top offensive minds and player-development coaches, has been named the Red Wolves’ 18th all-time head men’s basketball coach.
A 2025 selection to Silver Waves Media’s prestigious Elite 75 Future Head Coach Power Lunch, Pannone (pronounced Puh-Known) comes to A-State after most recently spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Alabama. The Crimson Tide boasted the nation’s highest scoring average both years as Pannone helped lead the program to Final Four and Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively. However, his path to Jonesboro also went through six different countries, including the United States, China, Germany, Israel, Korea and Slovakia.
“We conducted a thorough national search for our next head men’s basketball coach and had an outstanding pool of candidates,” said Purinton. “Coach Pannone is highly respected for his work as a coach at all levels, and during the search process it became clear that he was a great fit for our program. Our System President Dr. Brendan Kelly, Chancellor Dr. Todd Shields and I were completely aligned that he is the right person at the right time to lead our men’s basketball program into the future.
“Coach Pannone has achieved success both nationally and internationally, running high-tempo offenses in systems that emphasize player development. He is well-known as an elite basketball tactician and great recruiter with the ability to get the very best out of his players. He truly cares about the young men he coaches, placing a priority on their success both on and off the court.”
An introductory press conference open to the public will be held soon on a date to be announced at a later time. The press conference will take place in the Centennial Bank Athletics Operations Center, located in the north end zone of Centennial Bank Stadium, and be streamed live on the Arkansas State Athletics Facebook page (/AStateRedWolves). The press conference will also be carried lived on the Ticket Radio Network (95.3 FM, 96.9 FM and 970 AM in Jonesboro) and through the EAB Media app.
Pannone owns a wealth of experience at numerous levels, including NCAA Division I, NBA, G-League, various professional leagues overseas, junior college, high school and AAU. He has claimed 204 career wins in nine years as a head coach, including stops with the G-League’s Erie BayHawks and Birmingham Squadron and the Slovak Basketball League’s BC Prievidza.
His background includes 18 years of coaching players with NBA experience. He has coached 82 total NBA players and 46 players selected in the First Round of the NBA Draft, including 30 Lottery picks.
