First-year Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang made another addition to his coaching staff on Friday (April 1) with the selection of veteran assistant coach Ulric Maligi (pronounced YUR-ick MAL-uh-ghee) as the program’s associate head coach.

"We are excited to welcome Ulric, his wife Courtney and son JJ to the K-State Family," said Tang. When I began the process of building my staff, Ulric was at the top of my list. He is not only one of the best recruiters that I have been around, but he is one of the top basketball minds in the country, having learned from some of the best in the business. In addition to his talents as a coach, he is also an outstanding husband and father and will be a perfect fit in helping me and the rest of the staff elevate this program."

Maligi is the third announced member of Tang’s inaugural coaching staff at K-State following Jareem Dowling, who was named an assistant coach on Tuesday (March 29) and Marco Borne, who was named Chief of Staff on Wednesday (March 30). Other additions will be announced as they become official.

An assistant coach with 15 years of experience and deep ties to the state of Texas, Maligi arrives at K-State after spending the last three seasons on staff with head coach Chris Beard at both Texas Tech (2019-21) and Texas (2021-22). In addition to his time with the Red Raiders and Longhorns, he has also been an assistant at UT-Arlington (2006-07), Stephen F. Austin (2007-10), Houston (2010-12), SMU (2012-15) and Texas A&M (2016-19).

All told, Maligi has been a part of coaching staffs that have won 300 games – averaging 20 wins per season in his coaching career – and advanced to the postseason on eight occasions, including five NCAA Tournaments (2009, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022). He has also helped teams register eight 20-win seasons, including at least one at five of his seven stops, and collect five conference titles. In addition to his coaching experience, he also spent a year (2015-16) as the National Scouting Director for John Lucas Enterprises based in Houston.

“My family and I are honored and extremely excited to partner with Coach Tang and the K-State family,” said Maligi. “The past three seasons, I grew as a basketball coach and tactician under the tutelage of Coach Chris Beard at Texas and Texas Tech. During our time together, we accomplished many special things. I look forward to being a part of impacting the young men’s lives we are blessed to coach here at Kansas State on and off the court. Under the leadership of Coach Jerome Tang, I’m confident K-State basketball will consistently be one of the top teams in the country. His impact on my life for the last 20 years made my decision easy to join him in Manhattan. He’s an elite coach, communicator, culture creator and leader of men well beyond the basketball court.”

Maligi has been lauded for his accomplishments on the court, as he was recognized by both ESPN and The Athletic on their “40 under 40” lists for the top individuals in college basketball. He was listed 14th on The Athletic’s “40 under 40” list by Seth Davis which acknowledged the rising stars under the age of 40 in November 2021, while a group of ESPN writers selected him 13th on their list of top coaches under the age of 40 in May 2020.

Known for his abilities to recruit high-level players, Maligi has coached and/or recruited 18 NBA players in his coaching career, including Robert Williams III (Boston Celtics/Texas A&M), Danuel House, Jr. (Utah Jazz/Texas A&M), Shake Milton (Philadelphia 76ers/SMU) and Jahmi’us Ramsey (Sacramento Kings/Texas Tech). In all, he has also helped sign 20 prospects ranked among the top 100 recruits in the country.

Maligi was instrumental in helping Texas Tech sign a recruiting class in 2020 that was ranked No. 7 nationally by Rivals and No. 9 by 247Sports and included Jordan Brand All-American Micah Peavy and top Division I transfers Mac McClung (Georgetown) and Marcus Santos-Silva (VCU). He was also part of a staff that delivered Top 20 recruiting classes at both SMU (No. 14 in 2014) and Houston (No. 20 in 2012). Most recently, he helped sign a consensus top 10 class at Texas in 2022 that was ranked No. 7 nationally by Rivals and No. 10 by 247Sports and included pledges from two 5-stars and a 4-star recruit.

Maligi was apart of 58 wins and two NCAA Tournament appearances in three seasons as an assistant coach for Beard at both Texas Tech (2019-21) and Texas (2021-22).