Northern Illinois hires Washington grad for men's basketball coaching staff

Devin Whitelow will be coaching NCAA Division I men's basketball next season.

The 2017 Washington High grad was hired as an assistant coach for Northern Illinois on April 22, becoming the fourth member of new head coach Matt Majkrzak's staff.

Whitelow spent his previous two seasons as an assistant for Emporia State, a Division-II program based in Emporia, Kansas.

“I am extremely excited to be joining Coach Majkrzak’s staff here at NIU,” Whitelow said in a release. “The future is bright here and I can’t wait to get to work. Go Huskies!”

His coaching career began in 2022-23 as a graduate assistant at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Whitelow then returned to his college alma mater Winona State for the 2023-24 campaign. As a player there, he led the nation with a 5.96 assist/turnover ratio during his sophomore season in 2018-19.

“Devin is a rising star in the profession and is someone that’s made a big impact everywhere he’s been,” Majkrzak said in a release. “Although I’ve never coached with Devin, I’ve always had a tremendous respect for his talent evaluation and tireless work ethic on the recruiting trail. As a native of Illinois, he will be instrumental in keeping the top players in the state playing at NIU."

Northern Illinois comes off a 9-21 season, finishing 4-14 in their final year as a member of the Mid-American Conference. The Huskies officially join the Horizon League for all sports but football on July 1.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: College basketball: Northern Illinois hires 'rising star' as assistant coach