Towson University men's basketball head coach
Pat Skerry announced the hiring of John Auslander as an assistant coach on August 9, 2023. Auslander joins the Tigers from nearby Coppin State University where he served as the associate head coach for the Eagles. He enters his second season with the Tigers in 2024-25.
"I am excited to announce that coach Auslander is joining our staff. His experience working at Coppin State, The G League and at Maryland under outstanding coaches made him an attractive candidate to help elevate our program," Skerry said of Auslander. "His energy, work ethic and ability to perform many tasks associated with Division I basketball allow him to really complement our staff."
Towson finished the 2023-24 season winning 20-plus games for a school record third straight season and reached the CAA Championship Semifinals for the third straight year. The Tigers will return 81 percent of the scoring and 80 percent of minutes played for 2024-25, including CAA Rookie of the Year Tyler Tejada.
Auslander came to Coppin after serving a season as an assistant coach with the Maine Red Claws, a Boston Celtics affiliate in the NBA Developmental League. With the Red Claws who won a Division Title and advanced to the Conference Finals, he was primarily responsible for the defense which finished sixth in the League which was ranked 17
th at the time of takeover. He also assisted in the development of game plans, develop and present opponent scouting reports, edit and conduct player and team film sessions and conduct both individual and team player development sessions.
Prior to working with the Red Claws, Auslander was a graduate assistant at his alma mater, University of Maryland from 2014 to 2016. With the Terrapins, who set a regular season wins record in 2015 and reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2016, Auslander was responsible for monitoring the team's academic progress and assisted with travel arrangements. He also assisted in implementing offensive and defensive sets and principles, analyze and edit film and skill development for Washington Wizards Player Development Coach David Adkins.
While concurrently assisting with the Terps, Auslander also spent two summers as the head coach of DMV's Finest which consisted of several professional players and worked as a NBA Player Development Coach for potential Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards draftees and free agents, including former Terrapins Melo Trimble, Jake Layman and Alex Len.
After transferring from Division III Greensboro College, Auslander was a four-year letterwinner and twice named team captain at Maryland where he earned the Tom McMillen Academic Excellence award as a sophomore and the Greivis Vasquez Award for Most Inspirational Player as a senior. A roommate of Len's at College Park, Auslander was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll all four years.
A native of Herndon, Va., Auslander was a standout at Herndon High School before being named the Most Valuable Player at West Nottingham Academy. He is married to his wife Casey and has three children, Colton, Brayden and Callie.
