Greg Youncofski will join LMU’s coaching staff in 2020, following a season working across town at UCLA and six seasons at the University of Cincinnati.
The 2023-24 season is his fourth on the Bluff with the Lions.
In Youncofski's third season at LMU, the Lions beat Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, and BYU all in the same season, with two of those wins coming with the Zags and Gaels holding top-15 rankings. The Lions earned the highest ranked win in program history on Jan. 19, 2023, by defeating the sixth-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane and ending GU's 75-game home win streak, run of 93 straight wins over unranked teams, and 25 consecutive wins over the Lions. The Lions beat their second nationally ranked team on Feb. 9, 2023, as LMU defended home court and beat 15th-ranked Saint Mary's at Gersten Pavilion becoming the first LMU basketball team with multiple wins over top-15 programs and multiple wins over ranked teams for the first time in over a decade. In total, LMU beat four NCAA Tournament teams in 2022-23, with LMU defeating both Nevada and Grand Canyon in consecutive games in the non-conference. The Lions also won the Jamaica Classic in November of 2022 with wins over Georgetown and Wake Forest in Montego Bay.
LMU won 19 games in Youncofski’s third year, the third-most since 1990. By the numbers, 2022-23 saw achievements that few LMU team had done in over three decades. The Lions won 10 non-conference games for just the third time since 1988 and won nine WCC contests for the second time since 1991. The success in conference play resulted in a fourth-place finish and LMU's first double-bye into the WCC Tournament in 11 seasons.
Cam Shelton was named to the All-WCC First Team after leading the WCC in overall scoring at 21.23 ppg and scoring in conference games at 23.31 ppg. Shelton had the most 30-point games in the WCC in 2022-23 and became the first LMU player since Terrell Lowery in 1992 to score 40-points in a game. Shelton was WCC Player of the Week three times, named as a Lou Henson Award National Player of the Year finalist, and was named the Lou Henson Award National Player of the Week after leading LMU to the win over Gonzaga in Spokane.
Keli Leaupepe was named to the WCC Honorable Mention Team, and both of LMU’s captains, Shelton and Leaupepe, were named to the WCC All-Academic Team. The Lions set another new program-record team GPA in Winter of 2022 and had four players make the Dean's List that semester.
The 2020-21 season saw meteoric growths across the board for LMU men’s basketball. The Lions finished in the top three of the West Coast Conference standings for the first time since 2005-06. Youncofski helped guide his team through the COVID-19 pandemic and posted a winning record in the WCC for the first time since 2011-12. LMU has posted a top-100 ranking in the NCAA’s NET, college basketball’s comprehensive metric that takes into account record, quality opponents faced, and game location, among others. LMU’s 95 ranking is the highest NET (or RPI at that time) since the Elite Eight season of 1990.
Youncofski joined UCLA as the men’s basketball program’s Director of Recruiting/Player Personnel in May of 2019 after having spent the previous six seasons on the coaching staff at the University of Cincinnati, working for head coach Mick Cronin.
Several of Youncofski’s day-to-day responsibilities include managing recruiting databases and schedules, assisting with film breakdown, and serving as a liaison for the coaching staff between athletic administration and other department officials.
Youncofski, who grew up in New Jersey, helped UCLA’s program record a strong mid-season turnaround in 2019-20. The Bruins went 19-12 and won 11 of their final 15 games. UCLA finished second in the Pac-12 standings with a 12-6 mark and secured the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. UCLA won each of its final three games against teams that were ranked in the weekly top-25 poll – against No. 20 Colorado, at No. 23 Arizona and at No. 18 Colorado. Cronin became the Bruins’ first head coach to win Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors since 2006 (Ben Howland).
Youncofski served as an assistant coach with Cincinnati in 2018-19. That season, the Bearcats compiled a 28-7 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Cincinnati finished second in the American Athletic Conference’s regular-season standings (AAC) and won the AAC Tournament with a 69-57 win over Houston in the title game. In addition, Cincinnati’s Jarron Cumberland secured AAC Player of the Year acclaim.
During his previous five seasons with Cincinnati, Youncofski assisted the coaching staff in a variety of avenues. He served as the video, analytics and recruiting coordinator. He oversaw team video operations, analytics and advanced scouting of Cincinnati’s upcoming opponents. In addition, he assisted the coaches in their coordination of recruiting databases and schedules.
Youncofski served as Cincinnati’s video coordinator in 2016-17 after having been a program assistant since 2013. Through his six seasons working alongside Coach Cronin at Cincinnati, the Bearcats registered a record of 161-47 (.774 winning percentage). Cincinnati advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of those six seasons, notching two AAC regular-season titles and two AAC Tournament crowns.
Youncofski was recognized as one of Under Armour’s “30-under-30” honorees in 2017-18 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The award honors up-and-coming young coaches in men’s college basketball. He also serves as a member of the board of directors for Rising Coaches Elite, an organization that facilitates learning, growth and networking within the coaching profession.
Youncofski earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas in May 2013. He worked for three years as a student manager with the Kansas men’s basketball program. As an undergraduate, Youncofski was part of three consecutive Big 12 Championship teams under head coach Bill Self, including the 2012 squad that finished as the NCAA Tournament’s runner-up. While in Lawrence, Kansas, he assisted with the development of NBA draft selections Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Josh Selby, Thomas Robinson, Tyshawn Taylor, Ben McLemore and Jeff Withey.
Among his duties at Kansas, Youncofski supported the basketball program’s Director of Operations, managed all team practices and games and assisted the coaching staff with scouting reports and basketball drills. He created video playbooks with the team’s video coordinator and organized several Kansas basketball clinics.
Youncofski grew up in Middletown, N.J., and was a three-year varsity basketball letterwinner at Middletown High School North from 2007-09. He married his wife Kelsey in 2021.
COACHING EXPERIENCE:
2020-Present – LMU as an Assistant Coach
2019-20 – UCLA as the Director of Recruiting/Player Personnel
2018-19 – Cincinnati as an Assistant Coach
2017-18 – Cincinnati as the Video, Analytics, and Recruiting Coordinator
2016-17 – Cincinnati as the Video Coordinator
2013-16 – Cincinnati as a Program Assistant
2010-13 – Kansas as Student-Manager
POSTSEASON BERTHS (9):
(NCAA Tournament: 9 Appearances)
2019 – NCAA First Round at Cincinnati as an Assistant Coach
2018 – NCAA Second Round at Cincinnati as the Video, Analytics, and Recruiting Coordinator
2017 – NCAA Second Round at Cincinnati as the Video Coordinator
2016 – NCAA First Round at Cincinnati as a Program Assistant
2015 – NCAA Second Round at Cincinnati as a Program Assistant
2014 – NCAA First Round at Cincinnati as a Program Assistant
2013 – NCAA Sweet 16 at Kansas as Student-Manager
2012 – NCAA National Runner-Up at Kansas as Student-Manager
2011 – NCAA Elite Eight at Kansas as Student-Manager
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS (8):
2019 – AAC Tournament Champions at Cincinnati as an Assistant Coach
2018 – AAC Regular-Season and Tournament Champions at Cincinnati as the Video, Analytics, and Recruiting Coordinator
2014 – Big XII Regular Season and Tournament Champions
2013 – Big XII Regular Season Champions
2011 – Big XII Regular Season and Tournament Champions
