Kennesaw State University officials have named Lewis Preston, widely regarded as one of the top assistant coaches in the country, as the Owls new Head Men’s Basketball Coach. Preston, an assistant to Penn State’s Ed DeChellis for the past three years, also served as an assistant to Florida’s Billy Donovan when the Gators won the national championship in 2007 and was a member of Mike Brey’s staff at Notre Dame.A press conference will be held in the coming weeks to formally introduce the new head men’s basketball coach to the Kennesaw State campus and the local community.

“The hiring of Lewis Preston represents a new chapter in the elevation of our basketball program, and we are eagerly looking forward to the arrival of our new coach,” Kennesaw State University President Daniel S. Papp said. “This appointment builds on the momentum within KSU Athletics that just keeps getting stronger.”

“This is a tremendous opportunity, and I am thrilled and humbled to have been chosen by Kennesaw State,” Preston said. “My focus has always been on developing my student-athletes, both athletically and academically, to their fullest potential. I can’t wait to get started on hiring our assistant coaches and recruiting the additional players that will complement our current team. I am happy to be coming to KSU as it kicks its athletics program into high gear.”

Preston’s appointment is the first for newly named Kennesaw State Athletic Director Vaughn Williams, who was introduced to the campus at a press conference last week. Williams is slated to join KSU on May 2 from his role as associate athletic director at the University of Connecticut.

“Lewis Preston’s leadership and drive to win is unsurpassed,” Williams said. “He has what it takes to both motivate and inspire our players, and to fully leverage the top-notch basketball facilities he will have at his disposal. He is one of the best collegiate assistant basketball coaches around, and we are fortunate to have him on board.”

Preston, who has served for the past three years as assistant coach of the Nittany Lions, earned a reputation as a strong national recruiter and developer of post players. A former player himself, the 40-year-old Preston excels in such key areas as scouting, game preparation, recruiting and on-court teaching. He has coached in the collegiate ranks for more than 10 years.

Prior to joining the Nittany Lions, Preston was an assistant coach at the University of Florida for two years. During his first year, the Gators won the second of their back-to-back national championships. He assisted in the development of eight current professional players who were All-SEC performers, and also coordinated and assisted in the recruitment of the top-ranked (Scout.com) recruiting class of 2007.

Preston also was an assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame for six years, where he was part of three NCAA tournaments and three National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances. He also assisted in the development of six current professional players. Before joining Notre Dame, Preston was an assistant coach for two years at Coastal Carolina.

A 1993 graduate of Virginia Military Institute, Preston was a basketball standout for the Keydets, and later played professionally in Europe for four years.

Preston will replace Tony Ingle, KSU’s former head men’s basketball coach, whose contract was not renewed at the end of the 2010-11 Season.