Pennington promoted to assistant men's basketball coach at Miami

Miami University head men's basketball coach Travis Steele announced that Elijah Pennington has been promoted to Assistant Coach. Pennington joined Steele's program in August of 2022 as a Graduate Assistant through the McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative (MLI).

"I am extremely honored to be able to have this opportunity given to me by Coach Steele," said Pennington. "Miami is a special place, and I am blessed to be able to continue helping the young men in our program develop both on and off the court."

Pennington manages numerous aspects of the men's basketball program, most notably serving as a mentor to student-athletes. He also assists with recruiting efforts, player development, team travel, video, scouting, equipment organization and several other duties.

"Elijah has been an integral part of our rebuild here at Miami," Steele said. "He is completely immersed in getting our guys better, and he knows exactly how we want things done. Continuity is extremely important in this landscape. He more than earned this promotion. We are lucky to have him.”

Pennington was Miami University's first "Future Leader" through the McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative. The McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative is a coach-driven initiative that provides diverse college graduates a jump-start to their careers through practical experiences and opportunities to build their network while instilling in them the values of John McLendon: Integrity, Education, Leadership and Mentorship. Participants in the initiative are known as MLI Future Leaders.

Pennington came to Miami after spending the previous season at IUPUI as a student assistant coach. During his time at IUPUI, Pennington prepared scouting reports, broke down game film, created recruiting graphics and assisted the Director of Basketball Operations with travel and meal plans. He has also spent time with the Grand Park Premier (2019-21) as an assistant coach for two years and the head coach in 2021. Pennington also has experience playing collegiate basketball for Defiance College during his freshman year.

Pennington graduated from IUPUI in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts.
 
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