CLEVELAND – Daniyal Robinson has been named as the 17th head coach of Cleveland State men's basketball, Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Garrett announced on Wednesday.
"After a very thorough national search for our next head coach, I am pleased to have Daniyal, his wife Kim and their three children Devyn, Reece and Reid, join our team," shared Garrett. "Daniyal's vision for CSU basketball fully aligns with our foundation of championship success in the classroom, in the community and on the court. We look forward to fully supporting Coach Robinson's success and to continuing our accelerating momentum under his leadership."
"Daniyal Robinson's core values and lifelong commitment to developing student-athletes both on and off the court embody what we are all about at CSU," Cleveland State President Harlan Sands added. "He is the right leader at the right time for us, and both Scott Garrett and I look forward to working with him on further advancing the upward trajectory of our men's basketball program."
Robinson, most recently an assistant coach at Iowa State University. He joins the Vikings as a veteran of the coaching ranks with over 21 years of experience at the NCAA Division I level and multiple trips to the NCAA tournament, including a run with Iowa State to this year's Sweet Sixteen.
"My family and I are very excited about this opportunity here at Cleveland State," Robinson said. "When I met with President Sands and Scott, I knew that this was the place that we wanted to be. The shared values that President Sands and Scott have, the program where it is at, they have done it together the last three years and our goal here is to continue to build on the success that CSU has had and the foundation that was set. We want to build our young men on and off the court. We are very excited for the opportunity. Go Vikes!"
Respected as one of the nation's top assistant coaches, Robinson concluded his second stint at Iowa State where he has seen the Cyclones win two Big 12 Tournaments and advance to the NCAA Tournament four times, which includes runs to the Sweet 16 in 2016 and 2021. Over his two stops with the Cyclones, Robinson has helped coach 12 student-athletes to the NBA, a list that includes lottery pick Tyrese Haliburton in 2020 and 2019 second-rounder and NBA Champion Talen Horton-Tucker.
The Cyclones have spent much of his tenure nationally ranked, reaching as high as No. 4 in the country, and finishing inside the top-25 three times, which includes a rank of No. 23 in the nation to close the 2021-22 campaign.
Robinson returned to Iowa State for the 2015-16 year after two seasons at Loyola (Chicago). There he helped lead the Ramblers to 24 wins and the College Basketball Invitational title in 2014-15.
During his first stint at Iowa State, Robinson was a key part in the development of three future NBA players, which includes Craig Brackins, an All-American student-athlete and the No. 21 pick in the 2010 NBA draft, Diante Garrett and Justin Hamilton.
Robinson, a Rock Island, Illinois native also had coaching stops at Houston, Illinois State and his alma mater, Arkansas-Little Rock.
Off the court, Robinson founded and currently chairs the Black Assistant Coaches Alliance (BACA) and he started the Ramblers for Education program, which linked Loyola student-athletes and the Chicago community. He also served on the Iowa State athletic department's Cultural Humility Committee, a group of employees that participates in educational trainings with a goal of achieving cultural humility within the department.
Robinson was a student-athlete at Indian Hills Community College before transferring to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He was a Second Team All-Region honoree at Indian Hills, where he helped lead the Warriors to a 35-4 record during the 1995-96 season. Indian Hills finished the regular-season ranked as the No. 1 team in the NJCAA poll that year and advanced to the national championship tournament. He graduated from Arkansas-Little Rock in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in health education.
Robinson is joined in Cleveland by his wife Kim and three children – Devyn, Reece and Reid. Devyn is currently a standout on the Wisconsin women's volleyball team.