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Missouri Head Coach Reunites With Former Assistant

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Connor Greene | Last updated Apr 28, 2025 6:58 PM ET

The Missouri Tigers have found one of their new assistant coaches, and he’s a familiar face to head coach Dennis Gates.

According to Jeff Goodman, the Tigers are hiring former Duquesne assistant coach Steve Wright to fill one of two vacancies on the bench.

Missouri coach Dennis Gates is hiring Duquesne assistant Steve Wright, source told @TheFieldOf68.

Wright was on Gates’ staff at Cleveland State.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 28, 2025

Wright previously worked under Gates at Cleveland State during the 2019-20 season, serving as a video coordinator for one season.

Most recently, he spent two seasons as an assistant at Duquesne, helping the Dukes to a 25-12 record in his first year.

During his tenure, Duquesne captured their first Atlantic 10 Championship and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament — the program’s first appearance since 1977. The Dukes went on to defeat BYU, securing their first NCAA Tournament win since 1969.

Before joining Duquesne, the Dayton, Ohio native spent three seasons (2020–2023) as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Bowling Green.

Wright fills one of two open spots on the Tigers’ bench after former assistant Rob Summers accepted the head coaching job at Cleveland State and former associate head coach Charlton Young took an associate role at Miami.

Missouri will continue its search for one more addition to complete their coaching staff this offseason.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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