Head men’s basketball coach Rob Summers has announced the addition of Louis Rowe as an assistant coach on his inaugural Cleveland State men’s basketball staff. Rowe brings almost two decades of coaching experience to Cleveland including the last two seasons at the power four level.
"We’re excited to welcome Louis Rowe to our basketball staff,” added Coach Summers. “Louis brings a wealth of experience to our program, having served as a Division I head coach and worked across multiple levels of college basketball. His perspective, leadership, and ability to connect with student-athletes will be a tremendous asset. His journey through the game speaks volumes about his passion, knowledge, and commitment to development — both on and off the court."
Rowe spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Oregon. While there he led the Ducks to 49 combined victories and back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament. Rowe helped Oregon to two straight seasons of 24 wins or more for the first time in the last seven years.
Prior to Oregon, Rowe served as an assistant coach at South Florida for two seasons. He came to USF after four seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, James Madison University. Rowe led the Dukes from 2016-20 and laid the groundwork for the future of the program. He guided one of the youngest teams in the country in 2018-19 to 14 victories and a win in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament for the second time in three seasons. Rowe got his start in coaching at JMU serving as a graduate assistant and assistant coach for five seasons from 2007-12. Rowe led JMU to 33 wins in his final two seasons as an assistant coach.
In between his stops at his alma mater he had successful stints as an assistant coach at Bowling Green, Florida International and Rider. He spent one season at Rider which resulted in a postseason appearance in 2013. From there he went on to FIU for two seasons guiding the Panthers to 31 wins from 2013-15. He then served as the lead assistant at Bowling Green in 2015-16 and saw the Falcons advance to the Mid-American Conference Semifinals.
Rowe spent two seasons as a student-athlete at the University of Florida before transferring to James Madison for his final two seasons. He was a Second Team All-CAA selection in 1993-94 averaging 14.2 points and five rebounds per game. The Dukes won the CAA Tournament title and appeared in the 1994 NCAA Tournament where they narrowly fell to eventual Final Four participant Florida in the first round by two points. Rowe went on to average 21.7 points per game in his senior season and was named First Team All-CAA in 1994-95. His points per game average still stands as the fifth-best mark in school history and he finished his two seasons at JMU with over 1,000 total points.
Rowe went on to a successful nine-year professional career overseas which saw him play in Sweden, Germany, Belgium, France, Israel and Greece. He was a member of championship teams in Sweden (1995-96) and Belgium (1999-2000).
Rowe earned his bachelor’s degree from JMU and later earned his master’s degree from JMU in 2010.
