GREENVILLE, Pa. (June 12) -- Thiel College Director of Athletics Isaac Collins announced the hiring of Trey Austin as the next Thiel Men's Basketball head coach Friday morning.

Austin becomes the 26th head coach in program history and arrives in Greenville after serving as the head coach at Penn State Fayette for two seasons, where he orchestrated one of the program's most significant turnarounds in recent years.

"After an extensive national search that attracted an outstanding pool of candidates, we are excited to welcome Trey as our as the next Men's Basketball head coach at Thiel," Collins said. "Throughout every stage of the interview process, Coach Austin consistently demonstrated the qualities we were seeking in our next leader. He presented a clear vision for building a championship-caliber Division III program centered on recruiting, retention, player development, accountability and meaningful relationships. More importantly, he showed a detailed and measurable plan for how he intends to turn that vision into reality."

Austin guided the Roaring Lions to their first postseason appearance and postseason victory in more than a decade last season while improving the program's record from 7-18 to 12-10. Under his leadership, Penn State Fayette produced one Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year each along with six all-conference selections over two seasons.

Under his high tempo offensive system, the Roaring Lions averaged 77.5 points per game last season, the fifth-best mark in the PSUAC, and distributed 16.6 assists per game, the third-best mark in the league and the most in program history since 2015.

Defensively, Austin's squad was known for its full-court pressure defense that forced more than 14 turnovers per game, swiped nearly eight steals per contest and posted three blocked shots per matchup.

"I am extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead the Thiel Men's Basketball program," Austin said. "After meeting with the team, I can already feel the competitiveness, togetherness and hunger this group has to win. We are going to build this program on relationships, toughness, defense and a commitment to playing for one another every day."

Prior to his time at Penn State Fayette, Austin served as an assistant coach at DII Frostburg State University for three seasons. The Bobcats qualified for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship Tournament in his final season with the program.

"What impressed our search committee most was Coach Austin's ability to combine strong basketball knowledge with a genuine commitment to developing young men academically, athletically and personally," Collins added. "We believe Coach Austin is the right leader at the right time for Thiel Men's Basketball. His energy, vision, and commitment to excellence will have an immediate impact on our student-athletes and position our program for long-term success both on and off the court."

While at Frostburg, Austin earned a master's in Recreation, Parks, and Sports Management. He earned a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, while also being a part of the men's basketball team. In 2015-16, the team had one of their best-ever seasons, going 30-5 to win the Sun Belt Conference and win their NCAA Tournament First Round game over Purdue. 

After his time at Little Rock, Coach Austin built an AAU program and skill development business, where he trained and mentored high-level players, including NBA talent such as Kel'el Ware of the Miami Heat. As an AAU coach, he helped place dozens of athletes across the DI, DII and DIII levels.

Austin takes over the Tomcats program after the retirement of 20-year leader Tim Loomis. Additional information regarding Austin's coaching staff and the upcoming 2026-27 campaign will be announced at a later date.