Georgia Tech Officially Announces Five Additions to Scott Cross's Staff

It is a bust time in college basketball. The 2025-2026 season officially ended last night with Michigan defeating UConn and earning their second ever national championship. College basketball is going straight into the offseason and the transfer portal is open and if you are a new hire, you are filling out your staff.

Newly hired Georgia Tech head coach Scott Cross is juggling both of those things. While there have been reports about who he is bringing onto his first staff, the Yellow Jackets announced five hires today, including Wes Flanigan (Ole Miss), Kenneth Mangrum (Vanderbilt), Brandon Gilbert (Troy), Kelvin Lewis (Troy) and Chris Kreider (Rice).

Strong first staff

A top recruiter and player development coach with storied success, Flanigan joins the Georgia Tech men’s basketball staff as an associate head coach.

“I have known Coach Wes Flanigan for over 10 years and have always admired him as a coach and a recruiter,” Cross said. “He has recruited some of the top players in the country from Atlanta and will be instrumental in our recruiting process of high-level student-athletes that will help us win championships. Wes has worked with some of the brightest minds in basketball and will also be a great asset on the court for us. He will fit right in with the rest of our staff as we hit the ground running.”

Flanigan comes to The Flats after premier stops at Ole Miss (2023-26), Auburn (2018-23), Mississippi State (2012-15) and Nebraska (2010-12). The veteran coach has also had stints at Arkansas Little Rock, as both head coach (2016-18) and assistant coach (2015-16, 2004-08), and UAB (2008-10).

In his 22 seasons coaching at the collegiate level, Flanigan has helped lead teams to eight postseason appearances, 10 20-plus win seasons, and mentored multiple players to professional careers.

“I am elated to be a part of a Scott Cross led program, especially at a prestigious school like Georgia Tech in one of the best cities in the world,” said Flanigan. “There is a lot of work to be done and I am so excited to be a part of it!”

Mangrum arrives at Georgia Tech following a two-year stint at Vanderbilt where he helped the Commodores to 47 combined wins and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in nearly a decade. Under the direction of head coach Mark Byington, Vanderbilt turned a program that went 9-23 in 2023-24 into a top-25 program just a season later, entering the Associated Press poll for the first time since 2015 and finished the 2024-25 season with 20 wins and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. This past season, the Commodores compiled a 27-9 overall record, reached the SEC Tournament Championship game and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to Vanderbilt, Mangrum spent the 2023-24 season as associate head coach at New Mexico State. From 2018-23 (five seasons), Mangrum was at Troy, serving as an assistant coach for three seasons before being elevated to associate head coach his final two. Mangrum overlapped with Cross for four seasons as a Trojan. In his final two, the Trojans recorded their first back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Gilbert, a coaching veteran with 20 years of experience, was a member of Cross’s staff at Troy for the past six seasons (2020-26), helping the Trojans to five-straight 20-win seasons, three postseason appearances and back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular-season championships and tournament championships. Troy was the only team in the Sun Belt during the 2025-26 campaign to record four-straight 20-win seasons and 10 or more conference wins.

“I am extremely excited that Brandon Gilbert will be joining our staff here at Georgia Tech,” Cross said. “Coach Gilbert has been a huge part of our success over the last few years at Troy. He has been in charge of developing all of our post players, and he has done an outstanding job in that area. In addition, he will be on the road recruiting where he has already shown the ability to sign a conference MVP when Tayton Conerway won the honor in 2025! Coach Gilbert has been on my staff for each of my 20-win seasons over the past five years, and he played a big part in us winning back-to-back conference regular-season and conference championships.”

During the last five seasons, Troy finished higher than its projection in the Sun Belt preseason polls, placing top-5 in the conference each season. The Trojans returned to the postseason in 2021-22 with a trip to the College Basketball Invitational, the first postseason appearance since 2016-17, after posting a 20-11 overall record. After consecutive quarterfinal appearances in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament the next two years, the Trojans would return to national recognition with back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships in 2025 and 2026.

Lewis, who produced a long-standing professional playing career before joining the coaching ranks, was with Cross at Troy since 2023-24 (three seasons), overseeing player development.

“Kelvin Lewis is one of the best player development coaches that I have been around,” noted Cross. “He is also one of the best up and coming coaches in the country. He is very well connected in Atlanta and has shown to be a tremendous recruiter. Kelvin is one of the most well-rounded coaches that I have had the privilege of coaching alongside and he will be a great asset for the Georgia Tech men’s basketball program.”

Lewis enjoyed a 17-year playing career between the collegiate and professional levels before transitioning to assistant coach in 2023. Managing player development at Troy, Lewis helped the Trojans to three-straight 20-win campaigns and back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships. The Trojans finished in the top three of the conference standings each season with Lewis and earned consecutive NCAA Tournament automatic berths.

With Lewis on staff, several Trojans garnered conference honors including three specialty awards: 2025 Player of the Year - Tayton Conerway, 2024 Freshman of the Year - Myles Risgby and 2024 Sixth Man of the Year - Tayton Conerway. Additionally, four Trojans collected all-conference honors, including three first-team accolades.

Kreider brings over 20 years of coaching experience at multiple levels to The Flats for his second stint at Georgia Tech.

“After speaking with Coach Lanier at Rice, I knew Chris was the right guy for my staff,” said Cross. “He has Atlanta connections from his time as an assistant coach at Georgia State, and he even spent a couple of his early years on staff at Georgia Tech. Chris knows and studies the game and will be a huge asset to our basketball program both on and off the basketball court.”

Entering his 20th season as a collegiate coach, Kreider spent the last two seasons at Rice (2024-26) as an associate head coach for Rob Lanier in his second stint on South Main. Kreider also had stops as an assistant coach at SMU (2022-24), Georgia State (2019-22), Rice (2017-19), Virginia Military Institute (2015-17), George Mason (2011-15), Georgia Southern (2009-11) and USC Aiken (2006-07).

Throughout his coaching career, Kreider has helped recruit multiple mid-major top-25 recruiting classes, served as recruiting coordinator at six programs and placed an emphasis on player development, helping several to professional careers including Max Fiedler (BC Oostende, previously in G League), Trey Murphy (New Orleans Pelicans), Quincy Olivari (Motor City Cruise – G League) and Drew Peterson (Motor City Cruise – G League).