Tyler Underwood promoted to Illinois assistant coach

A new NCAA rule this season will let college basketball teams have two extra assistant coaches on the bench.

On Monday, head coach Brad Underwood announced Illinois’ two new assistants will be current staff members Tyler Underwood and Zach Hamer.

According to the NCAA, the new coaches may engage in “coaching activities” but they cannot recruit off-campus.

Tyler Underwood has been with the Illini program since coming over from Oklahoma State with his father in 2017. He played three seasons for the Illini and served the last two seasons as director of recruiting and scouting.

Hamer has been with the Illini for four seasons, serving as assistant to the head coach and video coordinator.

“I am excited to have Zach and Tyler in a role where they can now have on-court coaching responsibilities that benefit our team,” Underwood said in a statement. “These are two young men with bright futures in our profession. They have been immersed in the game of basketball their whole lives and have been part of successful, winning programs every step of the way, most notably here at the University of Illinois.

Shauna Green elevated two members of her staff to assistants on Saturday. Emily Burr and Jenna Giacone followed Green to Champaign from her previous job at Dayton.