East Carolina Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coach\u00a0Michael Schwartz\u00a0has officially announced the hire of Jaylen Bond as an assistant coach as well updates to his staff with\u00a0Riley Davis\u00a0being named associate head coach,\u00a0Jesse Higdon\u00a0named director of operations\/chief of staff and\u00a0Michael Perry\u00a0taking on the role of general manager in addition to his responsibilities as an assistant coach ahead of the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n
Bond arrives in Greenville after serving as an assistant coach for the men\u2019s basketball program at UAlbany where he led on-court player development and skill building for guards and forwards on the Great Danes\u2019 roster, including mentoring forward Justin Neely to America East Sixth Man of the Year honors. Bond\u2019s responsibilities also included assisting with scouting, leadership development and supporting recruiting efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel very fortunate to be able to add Jaylen Bond to our coaching staff,\u201d Schwartz said. \u201cHe brings strong experience as a successful college and professional player as well as his time coaching at Temple and Albany. Jaylen has a great feel for people and an excellent work ethic that will make an immediate impact on our players and program.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia, Pa. native was a graduate assistant at Temple from 2022-24, where he assisted in scouting, captured game film and conducted player development workouts. In 2023-24 with Bond serving as a graduate assistant, Temple became the first team in American Athletic Conference history to win four games in four days at the conference tournament resulting in the program\u2019s first appearance in the AAC championship game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m extremely excited to join Coach Schwartz\u2019s staff and the ECU family,\u201d Bond said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to aiding in the development of our student-athletes on and off the court. I\u2019m committed to giving everything I have to this program, this community and the Pirate fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to the start of his coaching career, Bond played overseas with multiple teams from 2017-21 including the Blackwater Bossings, Muharraq Basketball Club, Al Nasr Sports Club and The Flex Pistoia. Bond also played in the NBA G-League with the Westchester Knicks from 2016-17.<\/p>\n
Bond played two seasons at Temple where he was an All-AAC Tournament Team selection in 2015-16 as well as the Philadelphia All-Big 5 Second Team after averaging 10.3 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game. Bond was also named the first solo team captain under Fran Dunphy at Temple. He led the AAC in rebounds per game in 2014-15 and was named All-AAC Honorable Mention. Prior to his two seasons at Temple, Bond began his college career at Texas under Rick Barnes where he played 54 games and averaged 3.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in two seasons.<\/p>\n
Bond earned both of his degrees from Temple with a Master of Science in Communication Management in 2024 and a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communication in 2016.<\/p>\n
Davis enters his first season as associate head coach for the Pirates after serving as an assistant coach for the first three seasons on Schwartz\u2019s staff. Higdon spent her first three seasons on the Pirates\u2019 staff as the program\u2019s director of operations before becoming director of operations\/chief of staff for the upcoming season while Perry enters his second season on the Pirates\u2019 bench and first as assistant coach\/general manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur staff has been instrumental in building our program here at ECU, both on and off the court,\u201d Schwartz said. \u201cWe have been able to establish year to year continuity as well as add great coaches over the past couple of seasons. I am extremely grateful for their loyalty and commitment to our vision here at ECU.\u201d<\/p>\n