Bryant Stith completed his ninth year as an assistant coach at Old Dominion University under the leadership of Jeff Jones in 2021-22. He has been a pivotal asset to the Monarch program that is 181-112 overall since arriving in Norfolk. Since Stith’s arrival at Old Dominion, the Monarchs rank first in the league for overall road wins and road wins within C-USA play. Old Dominion ranks second in the league for total wins (181) since 2013-14, as well as home victories and overall C-USA wins.
During his time at ODU, Stith has been influential in guiding the Monarchs to a Conference USA Regular Season Championship, a Conference USA Tournament Championship, a NCAA Tournament appearance, a NIT Semifinal birth, a first ever Top 25 ranking and a Vegas 16 Championship.
The 2021-22 season saw the Monarchs finish 13-18 with an 8-10 mark in league play. Austin Trice was named to the Second Team All-Conference USA squad, while Imo Essien, P.J. Gill, Jaylin Hunter, Jadin Johnson and D'Angelo Stines were named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll.
During the 2020-21 season, Old Dominion compiled a 15-8 overall record and an 11-5 mark in league play, which earned the Monarchs a No. 2 seed in the Conference USA Tournament and first round bye. Malik Curry earned All-Conference USA Second Team honors, while Austin Trice was named the C-USA Sixth Player of the Year.
In 2020, Aaron Carver was named to the C-USA All-Academic Team for the second consecutive season; Carver was also named to the league’s All-Defensive Team.
In 2019, Coach Stith helped his son, B.J. Stith, earn Conference USA Player of the Year honors, while also being named an AP All-American Honorable Mention honoree.
Ahmad Caver garnered All-Conference USA First team laurels in 2018 and 2019, while claiming Third Team honors as a sophomore in 2017; Caver was also one of five players to make the league's All-Defensive team in 2018. B.J. Stith was named to C-USA’s First Team in 2019 and Third Team in 2018.
In 2015-16, Coach Stith helped ODU win the inaugural Vegas 16 Championship. He assisted Trey Freeman in earning First Team All Conference USA honors for the second straight season. Also in 2016, his son Brandan Stith was named to the Conference USA All-Defensive Team, while teammate Zoran Talley was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
In his second year at ODU, Stith helped guide the squad to a 27-8 overall mark and an unblemished 20-0 record at home. In postseason play, Stith helped lead Old Dominion to victories over Charleston Southern, Illinois State and Murray State en route to an NIT Semifinal berth at Madison Square Garden.
Stith helped Freeman, who was honored as an All-League selection, the C-USA Newcomer of the Year and as a Conference USA All-Academic Team honoree at the season’s end.
The All ACC performer and a 10-year NBA veteran coached Brunswick High School to three straight Virginia AA State titles prior to his first collegiate coaching role at ODU. He sported a 185-23 record in his seven seasons as head coach of the Bulldogs.
Stith was the 13th overall selection of the 1992 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets where he played eight years. He also played for the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers before retiring in 2002. He scored 5,946 career points, averaging 10.1 points per game for his NBA career and also dished out 1,178 career assists, averaging 2.0 per game.
Stith played for Jeff Jones at the University of Virginia where he was the 1989 ACC Rookie of the Year. Stith finished his career in 1992 as Virginia’s all-time leading scorer with 2,516 career points. He earned first-team All-ACC honors three times and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1992 National Invitation Tournament.
While at UVA, Stith played for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA World Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, winning the bronze medal. He also helped lead the US national team to the silver medal at the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle.
A native of Freeman, Va., Stith was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. As a high school coach at Brunswick High School, his squads won state championships in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and advanced to the state title game seven straight years. He is the only person in Virginia High School League history to win back-to-back state titles as a coach and a player.
Stith is married to the former Barbara Dilworth, an ODU alumnae (class of ’92). Besides Brandan (class of ’18) and B.J. (class of ’19), Bryant and Barbara also have two daughters, Bria and Brooke, who both attend East Carolina University as track and field student-athletes. Stith graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in sociology.