Coming to Hickory from Farmville, VA, Riley McGillan joins the Bears men’s basketball program as an assistant coach.
McGillan comes to LR from Longwood University where he was the men’s basketball director of operations for the Lancers. In his role, he oversaw numerous aspects of the program, including practice preparation, film, data analytics, travel operations, academic oversight and general quality control. McGillan also assisted the Longwood athletics communications office as the coordinator of social media, a role in which he aided in the department's social media outreach and the design and production of digital media elements.
A 2016 graduate of Clemson University with a bachelor’s degree in sports marketing, McGillan also earned his Master’s in Athletic Leadership in 2018 from Clemson. He began as a student manager in the Tigers’ basketball program, and was then given a spot on the roster, and then a spot on the coaching staff as a graduate assistant coach. During his six seasons with the Tigers, he was part of two 20-win teams and three postseason-bound squads, including in 2017-18 season when, as a graduate assistant coach, he helped Clemson reach the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in more than 20 years.
Beginning from his days as an undergraduate at Clemson in 2012, McGillan is nearing a decade of experience in college athletics in various roles.
After his two-year stint as a team manager, McGillan earned a roster spot with the Tigers and competed for three full seasons from 2014-17. During that time, Clemson posted three consecutive winning seasons and reached the 2017 National Invitational Tournament. The following year he returned to the program as a graduate assistant coach and helped lead the Tigers to a 25-10 record, a third-place finish in the ACC and a run to the NCAA Sweet 16.
McGillan collected numerous academic honors at Clemson, including a pair of Clemson All-Academic Team honors, the men's basketball program's Academic Excellence Award, and the Clemson Athletics Director's Academic Excellence Award. He was a four-time Dean's List selection in the College of Business and Behavior Sciences.
