Men's Basketball Adds Coaching Veteran David Cason to Staff
4/28/2026 12:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cason brings nearly 30 years of coaching experience to the Kansas City sidelines
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Men's Basketball and Head Coach Mark Turgeon have added another assistant coach to the staff, officially introducing David Cason today. Cason is a former Power conference coach with years of experience across many levels who has recruited and developed multiple NBA draft picks, including former Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson and two-time NBA Champion Damian Jones.
"I've known David for a long time and I have always respected the way he went about coaching and recruiting," Turgeon said. "He brings so much experience and knowledge that is going to help us get the program going in the right direction."
In his current role, Cason will assist in recruiting, guard development and scouting. He will also be the co-defensive coordinator.Â
"I wanted to work at Kansas City because of Coach Turgeon and the staff that he has assembled," Cason said. "Kansas City is a championship city, with room for Kansas City Basketball to join in on the success. Coach Turgeon and our staff plan on building a program that the city will support and most importantly, a program that the city can be proud of."
Cason has made many stops across his 30-year coaching career, highlighted by stays at Oklahoma State, Texas, North Carolina and Notre Dame. He has been to the postseason 15 times and has been a part of over 500 coaching wins.
Most recently on staff at Oklahoma State from 2021-24, Cason was recruiting coordinator for a class that was ranked as high as seventh nationally in 2023. He also assisted in developing strong defensive units, as the Cowboys ranked fourth in KenPom's defensive efficiency in 2021-22 and 12th in 2022-23.Â
Throughout his three-year stint in Stillwater, the Cowboys defeated seven nationally-ranked opponents, including a road win over No. 1 Baylor on Jan. 15, 2022. Cason helped guide the Cowboys to an NIT qualification in 2022-23, eventually advancing to the quarterfinals.Â
From 2018-21, Cason was the Associate Head Coach at FIU. In his first year with the Panthers, the team went 20-14, the program's first 20-win season in over two decades. FIU qualified to the CIT and won its first round game over Texas State, the program's first-ever postseason win.
He held an assistant coaching title at Florida Gulf Coast under Head Coach Joe Dooley during the 2017-18 season. The Eagles won the ASUN regular season championship and won 23 games on the year, going on to qualify for the NIT. Brandon Goodwin was named ASUN Player of the Year and went on to spend time with the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cason's first Big 12 stint came from 2015-17 as an assistant coach at Texas, qualifying to the NCAA Tournament with a 20-13 record in 2015-16.Â
Before following Shaka Smart to Texas, he was an assistant coach at VCU in 2014-15. The Rams went 26-10 on the year, running through the A10 tournament and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they were granted a No. 7 seed.
From 2011-14, Cason was an assistant coach at Vanderbilt under his previous college coach Kevin Stallings. The 2011-12 Commodores won the program's first SEC title in over 60 years, defeating eventual national champion Kentucky in the SEC Championships. Vanderbilt took a five-seed into the NCAA Tournament, moving into the Round of 32 by defeating Harvard in the first round.Â
Cason aided in the development of future NBA Draft picks Jeffrey Taylor and John Jenkins during his time at Vanderbilt.
For six seasons, Cason was at Tulsa, spending three years as an assistant coach and three as the associate head coach. He was voted by Conference USA head coaches as the league's top assistant coach in a 2010 FoxSports.com poll and won 123 total games in his six-year tenure. The Golden Hurricane went to two NITs and won the 2008 CBI championship during his time in Tulsa.
From 1999-2003, Cason was Director of Basketball Operations at a pair of high-level programs, spending 1999-2000 at Notre Dame before a 2000-03 stay at North Carolina.Â
Cason got his start as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois from 1996-99 after spending the 1995-96 season as a student assistant at Illinois State.Â
Cason's collegiate career began at the College of Southern Idaho, where he was a Second Team all-region performer and led the Scenic West Conference in assists. He went on to Illinois State, where he was the Missouri Valley assists leader and was named Second Team All-MVC.
Originally from Baltimore, Md., Cason graduated from Southern HS in 1991. He earned his bachelor's in physical education - recreation management at Illinois State in 1996.Â
Cason and his wife, Tamara have three children: Da'Via, Taylor and DJ. Cason's brother, Damon Cason, played basketball at Towson State from 1995-2000.
