It took just one season for former Princeton men’s basketball associate head coach Brett MacConnell to find his way back to the Ancient Eight.
This time, he returns as the man in charge.
The hiring was first reported by Pete Thamel of ESPN on Monday. Dartmouth named MacConnell as the 29th head coach of the program, giving the 39-year-old MacConnell his first head coaching position of his career.
MacConnell spent the 2025–26 season as an assistant coach at Stanford University under Head Coach Kyle Smith, where the program had its second straight 20-win season after previously having just one in the previous nine years.
MacConnell will replace outgoing head coach David McLaughlin, whose contract was not renewed earlier this month after “an ongoing review” by Dartmouth Director of Athletics and Recreation Mike Harrity.
MacConnell started as an assistant coach with the Tigers in 2013. He was appointed as the recruiting coordinator in 2015 before being elevated to associate head coach ahead of the 2018–19 season.
He remained at Old Nassau until his contract was not renewed following a disappointing 2024–25 campaign, as the Tigers also parted ways with assistant coach Lawrence Rowley. Rowley spent the 2025–26 season as an assistant coach for the Air Force men’s basketball program.
Princeton entered that season with high expectations after the return of former star guard Xaivian Lee and former Ivy League Player of the Year Caden Pierce ’26, but finished fourth in the Ivy League and exited in the Ivy Madness semifinals.
“I didn’t see it coming,” Pierce told The Daily Princetonian in October of the decision to let go of MacConnell, while also acknowledging that he isn’t aware of everything that happens behind the scenes.
His departure set off a domino effect: Lee transferred to the Florida Gators, and Pierce decided to sit out the 25–26 season to preserve his eligibility. In February, Pierce announced his commitment to Purdue.
The Tigers finished this season 9–20 overall. It was the first losing season for the Tigers since the 2017–18 season and the first 20-loss season in 18 years.
Under MacConnell, Princeton saw its best recruiting stretch. MacConnell flew to Leicestershire, England, to recruit Tosan Evbuomwan ’23, who is currently the only Tiger in the NBA and the focal point of the Tigers’ run to the Sweet 16 in 2023. Princeton was the only program to respond to Evbuomwan, who sent his recruiting tape to over 100 DI programs.
Other than Pierce and Lee, MacConnell also recruited Jaelin Llewellyn ’22, who was a four-star recruit, and Devin Cannady ’19, the fifth all-time leading scorer in program history, who had a brief stint with the Orlando Magic in the NBA.
“[I’m] super excited for BMac for his new opportunity,” Pierce said, referring to MacConnell. “I know this has been a long time in the making for him. For the longest time, he’s been one of the most successful assistant coaches in the country… I couldn’t be happier for him.”
“He’s an unbelievable coach and unbelievable person, and forever grateful for him recruiting me and others to come to Princeton. I’m just wishing him nothing but the best of luck going forward in his new position,” Pierce continued.
Now at Dartmouth, MacConnell will aim to replicate the recruiting success that helped fuel Princeton’s rise.
The 2024–25 season was the most successful in recent history for Dartmouth, which finished third in the Ivy League and posted a 14–13 regular-season record. They went on to lose to Cornell in the Ivy Madness semifinals. Prior to that season, they last finished in the top four in the 2014–15 season when they finished fourth.
The Big Green will return sophomore shooting guard Kareem Thomas, the team’s leading scorer at 15.9 points per game this past season, but the status of fellow sophomore and starting point guard Connor Amundsen is now uncertain after he entered the transfer portal on Monday morning, leaving it to be seen whether MacConnell will be able to retain him.
The Big Green have not made it to the NCAA tournament since 1959, marking 65 straight seasons without reaching the big dance.
His first season will also come with a notable opportunity, as Dartmouth is scheduled to host Ivy Madness in 2027, the first time the Big Green will host the tournament since its introduction in 2017.
Hayk Yengibaryan is a head News editor emeritus and senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Glendale, Calif. and typically covers breaking news and profiles. He can be reached at hy5161[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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