I.J. Poole - Men's Basketball Coach - East Carolina University Athletics

I.J. Poole

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
poolei24@ecu.edu

I.J. Poole enters his second season as an assistant coach for the East Carolina Men's Basketball program after being hired to the position in June 2024.

Poole arrives to Greenville after spending the last two seasons at Providence where he was the associate director of player development, scouting and recruiting coordination. Before joining the Friars, he served as the director of player personnel and scouting at George Mason from 2021-23.

Prior to his stops at Providence and George Mason, Poole served as the assistant to the head coach at Tennessee from 2019-21, which marked his second stint with the Volunteers as he was previously a graduate manager from 2015-17.

“We are extremely fortunate to be able to add I.J. Poole to our coaching staff,” Schwartz said. “He is an incredible person and professional in this business. I.J. has an elite basketball mind and unique relationship skills that will allow him to make an immediate impact in all areas of our program. We are excited to have I.J. and his wife Rachel as a part of the Pirate family.”

Poole worked for two seasons at Appalachian State where he handled budget management, daily scheduling and team travel as director of basketball operations in his first year before being promoted to assistant coach for the 2018-19 campaign.

He began his career at the University of Texas, where he worked as a student manager and was part of two NCAA Tournament teams with the Longhorns, and Texas averaged 22 wins per season during that stretch.

The Austin, Texas, native graduated from Texas in 2015 with a degree in Exercise Science and a minor in Biology.