Wichita State head coach Paul Mills announced a number of additions to his support staff Friday including former Valparaiso associate head coach Luke Gore as Director of Basketball Operations, Iain Laymon as Director of Player Development, Xavier Holland as Special Assistant and Ashtin Meerpohl as Strength & Conditioning Coach. Additionally, Ryan Hillard will continue his work with the program as Chief of Staff and Todd Fagan returns to the bench for his 18^th season as athletic trainer.
 
Last week Mills announced that Kenton Paulino, Chris Hollender and Quincy Acy will serve as assistant coaches with Paulino taking on the title of Associate Head Coach.
 

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Luke Gore, Director of Basketball Operations (Full Bio)
 
As Director of Basketball Operations, Gore will be responsible for scouting, team analysis and strategies, and day to day operations within the Shocker program.
 
Gore arrives in Wichita after a 21-year Valpo tenure that spanned two mascots, three conferences and four head coaches – three of them named Drew. He worked under College Basketball Hall of Famer Homer Drew and sons Scott and Bryce and has been associate head coach for the past seven years under Matt Lottich, helping the Beacons (formerly the Crusaders) to 387 wins, seven conference regular season titles and 10 postseason appearances.
 
Mills said:
 
"Luke has such a strong devotion to assisting the student-athletes and program that I was excited for our Shocker players and fans when he said he would join us. He has high level experience, understands strategy and will provide on-court assistance to our staff and players that will be invaluable. I am glad that he, Cheryl, Bartholomew and Christine will join us here in Wichita."
 

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Iain Laymon, Director of Player Development (Full Bio)
 
Laymon spent six years with Mills are ORU, the last two as its Director of Player Development. He'll carry that title with him to WSU, helping prepare Shocker student-athletes for personal, academic and athletic success by coordinating individual development sessions with players along with internal and opponent scouting reports.
 
A native of Cambridge City, Ind., Laymon was a four-year student manager at Indiana under Tom Crean (2013-17) while working toward his undergraduate degree in sport marketing and management. He added a Leadership Master of Business Administration degree from ORU in 2020.
 
Mills said:
 
"Iain is a star in this profession. He had so much influence in our ascension at ORU during my tenure, and his work ethic is second to none. I've watched his development up close these past six years, and he's as good a coach, relationship builder and competitor as I've observed during my nearly 30 years of coaching basketball. He truly prioritizes the players and their development. I'm glad he is on our team."
 

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Xavier Holland, Special Assistant (Full Bio)
 
Holland – a former ORU graduate manager from 2020-22 – rejoins Mills in Wichita after a year as Director of Operations at Lipscomb, where he helped the Bisons to a 20-win season and a berth in the 2023 ASUN tournament semifinals. He played collegiately at Truett McConnell University near Atlanta.
 
At WSU Holland will be responsible for player development in individual sessions while overseeing all NIL arrangements to ensure NCAA compliance between player and organizations.
 
Mills said:
 
"X is a player's dream. There are no office hours in his world. He makes their daily improvement his top priority and is available around the clock to teach and assist. X is strategic about the time that he puts in with each individual player and caters their daily development toward a long-term blueprint. Every drill is another building block in place that will eventually take their games to new heights. Past players have cherished their time with X because of his expertise and teaching ability. He is one of the bright young coaches in college basketball."
 

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Ashtin Meerpohl, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach (Full Bio)
 
Meerpohl, a Holton, Kan. native, returns to his home state after working alongside Mills and staff at ORU for the past five seasons. He'll be tasked with helping Shocker student-athletes achieve peak performance on the court by enhancing their athletic ability and minimizing injury risk.
 
Mills said:
 
"I've seen Ashtin's work up close and been inspired by his commitment to our players and their improvement.  He learned under one of the finest in the industry in Andrea Hudy and his time at high-level programs like Kansas and Ohio State has allowed him to develop his own unique and successful approach that has added value to everyone he's worked with. Our players will benefit significantly from his expertise."