Ponder Among Nation's Top Mid-Major Assistant Coaches

WILMINGTON, N.C. – UNCW men's basketball standout player and current assistant coach Craig Ponder's star continues to rise with recognition on the 2026 Silver Waves Media Top/Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches list, as announced by the national organization on Monday afternoon.

Now in its seventh year, the prestigious list honors assistant coaches at the mid-major level who positively impact their programs, the sport and help change the lives of student-athletes. Over 40 coaches from Silver Waves lists over the last four years have gone on to become head coaches.

The only person associated with the UNCW program to win a Coastal Athletic Association Championship as both a player (2016) and coach (2025), the 34-year-old Ponder has been an instrumental part of restoring the Seahawks to national prominence twice this century.

A two-way guard who scored 1,160 points from 2011-16, Ponder returned to the Seahawks' bench at Trask Coliseum in 2020-21 as the team's Director of Basketball Operations and was elevated to assistant coach by head coach Takayo Siddle after just one season.

With Ponder on staff, the Seahawks have won two regular season crowns, the 2025 league tournament title to clinch the CAA auto-berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Seahawks have appeared in three postseasons, including winning the 2022 College Basketball Invitational Championship and advancing to the Second Round of the 2026 National Invitation Tournament.

The Bluefield, W. Va., native has aided in the development of several All-CAA guards, including Jaylen Sims, Shykeim Phillips, Donovan Newby and Nolan Hodge. All went on to play at the professional level, and Sims became the fourth Seahawk to play in the National Basketball Association with his hometown Charlotte Hornets in 2025. Newby joined the UNCW staff this summer.

Ponder shot 38 percent from the three-point range in his career, including connecting at a blistering 45.1 percent clip in UNCW's resurgent 2014-15 CAA regular season championship season that saw the Seahawks boost their win total by nine games over the previous year.

The 6-1 guard guided the proud program to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade in 2016. He graduated with the most games played (130) in program history and averaged 11.5 points over his final two years that featured 43 wins, back-to-back CAA regular season crowns and the 2016 CAA title.

Ponder earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Communication Studies from UNCW in 2016.

2026 Silver Waves Media Top/Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches List

Adrian Wojnarowski	St. Bonaventure
Ali Ton	UC Irvine
Ander Galfsky	Tennessee Chattanooga
Anthony Santos	Long Beach State
Barrett Peery	Utah State
Ben Walker	Milwaukee
Bobby Jordan	Temple
Bobby Naubert	Oakland
Brandon Cole	Pacific
Brandon Cyrus	UCSB
Brandon Laird	Idaho
Brendan Mullins	Murray State
Brendyn Taylor	Loyola-Chicago
Brett Putz	St. Louis
Brian Eskilden	UCSB
Brian Michaelson	Gonzaga
Bryce Douglas	Gonzaga
Byron Jones	Indiana State
Cameron Prather	Alabama A&M
Charles Chigeru	Niagara
Chase Goldstein	Duquesne
Chris Buchanan	Niagara
Chris Cobb	St Mary's
CJ Killin	CSUN
Courtney Eldridge	Elon
Craig Neal	Nevada
Craig Ponder	UNCW
Cullen Neal	Murray State
Dalip Bhatia	Marist
Damari Milstead	LMU
Dan Sheets	Saint Mary's
Dave Velasquez	San Diego State
David Gale	USD
Derek Glasser	UCSB
Drew Kelly	UT Martin
Dwayne Osborne	Youngstown State
Frankie Ferrari	San Francisco
George Galanopoulos	WA State
Gibson Johnson	Hawaii
Graham Bousley	Pepperdine
Hamlet Tibbs	Buffalo
Hunter Jenkins	UTEP
Jackie Manuel	American
Jake Williams	Tarleton State
Jamere Dismukes	LIU
James Kane	Dayton
Jarod Lucas	Nevada
Jarren Dyson	Army
Jason Ludwig	Santa Clara
Jay Duncan	San Francisco
Jaydee Luster	San Diego State
Jeremy Pope	San Diego
Jermaine Johnson	Louisiana Monroe
Jesse Bopp	UAB
Joe White	South Dakota
Johnathan Bell	Texas AM Corpus Christi
Jon Fleming	Kent State
Jonathan Holmes	College of Charleston
Jonathan Mitchell	App State
Josh Calbert	San Diego
Julius Smith	UC Irvine
Justin Hawkins	UNLV
Kian Boroujerdi	Canisius
Kory Alford	Oral Roberts
Kris Saulny	Iona
Kyle Vogt	UC Davis
Kyron Cartwright	Hampton
Leonard Fairley	Norfolk State
Lo Leath	Nevada
Manny Adako	Lehigh
Manny Dosanjh	Ball State
Martynas Rubikas	High Point
Matt Colpoys	GWU
Matt Figger	UMass
Matt Janning	Northeastern
Matt Kingsley	Yale
Matt Lottich	Grand Canyon
Michael Wilder	New Mexico
Mike DePaoli	Hofstra
Mike Kosich	UC Davis
Mike Plank	Oregon State
Mike Roberts	New Mexico
Mike Scott	Alabama State
Mike Sotsky	Harvard
Nat Graham	Cornell
Nick Booker	UC Irvine
Nick Matson	East Carolina
Nick Whitmore	Wyoming
Patrick Scully	UC Irvine
Patrick Wallace	Iona
Pedro Garcia Rosado	Washington State
Peter Funk	Evansville
Preston Laird	New Mexico State
R-Jay Barsh	Gonzaga
Ralph Davis	Texas AM Corpus Christi
Ray Barefield	Fresno State
Reuben Williams	UC Riverside
Ricardo Rush	Tennessee Chattanooga
Ricky Muench	LMU
Riley Conroy	South Alabama
Rob Jones	St. Mary's
Rob Williams	UAB
Ryan Badrtalei	San Diego State
Ryan Lundgren	Eastern Washington
Ryan Oliver	Pepperdine
Ryan Schneider	Vermont
Sam Stapleton	New Mexico
Scott Garson	UNLV
Selle Hann	UT Martin
Shaun Morris	Siena
Simon McCormack	NKU
Skye Ettin	UCSD
Spenser Bland	Denver
Stephen Gentry	Gonzaga
Steve Curran	George Mason
Steve Shpreyregin	Seattle
Terrance Rencher	Texas AM Corpus Christi
Terry Johnson	Evansville
Tim Shelton	Colorado State
Tom Tankelewicz	New Mexico
Will Reigel	Davidson
Woody Taylor	Mercer
Xavier Silas	VMI
Yaphett King	Tulsa
Zach Norvell Jr.	Gonzaga
Zak Boisvert	St Louis

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Players Mentioned

#4 Nolan Hodge: G; 6' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#4 Nolan Hodge
: 6' 7"; Senior
: G

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Ponder Among Nation's Top Mid-Major Assistant Coaches

Players Mentioned

#4 Nolan Hodge

Players Mentioned

#4 Nolan Hodge