Connor McNelis is entering his third season as an assistant coach at Arkansas State and his first as the program’s recruiting coordinator.
McNelis joined the Arkansas State women’s basketball staff in October 2021 as an assistant coach after two seasons in the same position at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La.
In two seasons at Nicholls under longtime coach DoBee Plaisance, McNelis' responsibilities included working primarily with the guards, in addition to fundraising, film and video operations, organizing the male practice squad and assisting with recruiting, day-to-day operations, practice planning and game preparation.
Prior to his stint in Thibodaux, McNelis spent two years in Boca Raton, Fla., at Florida Atlantic as video coordinator/ player development. With the Owls, he utilized Synergy and iMovie for highlights, game and practice breakdown and recruiting highlights. He also assisted in practice planning and scouting.
McNelis grew up around women's basketball as his mother, Joye Lee McNelis, has been coaching collegiately for over 30 years and is entering her 18th season at the helm at Southern Miss. Since 2005, he has worked the annual Joye Lee McNelis Basketball Camps, assisting in all aspects of the individual, positional, team and elite events.
He also spent three seasons at USM, serving in multiple capacities for the Golden Eagles. Beginning in 2014, he served as the men's basketball team manager in addition to being a women's basketball student assistant. With the men's team, McNelis assisted with skill development and practices while playing a vital in-game role of relaying opponent play calls to coaches as well as providing a breakdown of opponent strategy at halftime and post-game. With the women's team, McNelis was responsible for film breakdown and assisting the coaching staff with all special assignments, as well as organizing and maintaining practice plans and player shot charts.
The Hattiesburg, Miss., native graduated with a bachelor's degree in sports coaching from Southern Miss in the summer of 2017. He also played one season (2012-13) at Emmanuel College before transferring to USM.
