Joe Esposito - Associate Head Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches

Joe Esposito

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
jesposito@umkc.edu

Joe Esposito was officially added to the Kansas City Men's Basketball coaching staff as Associate Head Coach on May 9, 2022 and enters his fourth season in 2025-26. He and Head Coach Marvin Menzies have worked together in the past, as Esposito was on Menzies's UNLV staff during the 2018-19 season.

In 2024-25, the Roos were selected for a first place finish in the Summit League preseason polls, a first in program history. One of the most notable moments of the season was a six-game winning streak from Dec. 10 through Jan. 4 that included a road win at Wichita State, KC's first win over the Shockers since 2008-09. The Roos picked up a 73-56 win over Oral Roberts in the first round of the Summit League Championship, KC's first postseason win since 2017. Jamar Brown picked up multiple accolades throughout the season, including Second Team All-League, Academic All-League, CSC Academic All-District, Summit Peak Performer of the Week and an Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honor.

The 2023-24 season was one of the program's best in recent history as a six-game win streak to end the regular season helped Kansas City earn a second place finish in the Summit League standings, tied for the best finish in program history. Along the way, KC picked Summit League sweeps over Oral Roberts, Omaha, Denver and South Dakota. KC's Dec. 29 victory over ORU was the first home win over the Golden Eagles since 2005, while the Feb. 15 win over SDSU marked the first win over the Jackrabbits since 2015.

Esposito's assistance was key, as Head Coach Marvin Menzies brought home Coach of the Year honors, becoming the second coach in program history to do so. Jamar Brown was named First Team All-League and the League's Newcomer of the Year, while Jayson Petty earned Freshman of the Year honors, Khristion Courseault brought home the Sixth Man of the Year award and Babacar Diallo was given an All-Defensive team nod.

In 2022-23, Kansas City was consistently ranked as one of the best defensive teams in the Summit, leading the league in rebounds per game and scoring defense. At the end of the season, Shemarri Allen and RayQuawndis Mitchell were both named Second Team All-Summit League. Allen was also named to the All-Defensive Team while Mitchell earned a spot on the All-Newcomer squad.

"I am so excited to have the opportunity to join this great university in this incredible city," Esposito said. "Coach Menzies and I are reunited once again, and I look forward to working with this great coach and fantastic person."

"Joe and I have been connected in the basketball world for over 25 years," Menzies said. "I was able to see his value in recruiting, scouting and creativity in marketing, among other things. As my Associate Coach, his responsibilities will be many, and he will be strong in all areas. I'm very happy to have Joe at my side as we start this next chapter of winning!"

After an incredible 33 years at the college level, Esposito spent the 2020-21 and '21-22 seasons at Cesar Chavez High School in Phoenix, Arizona. He lead the Champions to two-straight District Championships, while losing only one game in Region in two years. Esposito was named Coach of the Year twice while he was at Cesar Chavez.

In his season at UNLV, Esposito helped guide the Rebels to an 18-win season, including a fourth-place finish in the Mountain West Conference. The Rebels' fourth-place finish was a three-spot improvement over the previous season, and three players earned All-Mountain West honors.

Before his time in Las Vegas, Esposito spent 11 years working with Hall of Fame Coach Tubby Smith at Minnesota, Texas Tech and Memphis.

While at Memphis, he played an integral part in signing the top recruiting class in 2016-2017 and 2017-18 in the American Athletic Conference. Esposito was named the top recruiter in the AAC by 247 sports The Tigers averaged 20 wins per season during his two seasons there and advanced to the semifinals of the AAC Tournament in March 2018.

Prior to Memphis, Esposito spent three years as an assistant coach at Texas Tech, where he helped turn around the lowest ranked school in the Big12. He helped the Red Raiders attract its best recruiting classes in more than a decade, which helped propel the team to the 2016 NCAA Tournament. That team closed out the regular season by winning six of their last eight games and the turnaround was the biggest in the Big 12 with the Red Raiders completing a six-game improvement from the year prior in arguably the toughest conference in the nation. Esposito's efforts helped Coach Smith earn the Big 12's Coach of the Year award, the John R. Wooden Legends In Coaching Award and he was also recognized by the Sporting News as its Coach of the Year for the rebuilding effort that season.

At Minnesota with Esposito on the staff, the Gophers advanced to the postseason five times, including three NCAA Tournament appearances (2009, 2010, 2013) and two NIT invites (2008, 2012). In 2013, Minnesota recorded its first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years, advancing to the third round, and in 2012 the team advanced to the NIT championship game. Esposito was the Associate Head Coach for Frankie Allen, and played a vital role for the Tennessee State Tigers from 1995-98. He was responsible for recruiting three Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year award winners. His 1996-97 and 1997-98 recruiting classes were ranked among the nation's top 30 by Hoop Scoop.

Esposito was also a head coach at Division II Angelo State for eight seasons. He left as the winningest coach by percentage in school history and was the second head coach in the history of the program to reel off five consecutive winning seasons. In 2000-01, the Rams advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in 10 years and the third time in school history. Angelo State won the Lone Star Conference South Division Championship with a 22-8 record, 11-1 in Conference, which tied the highest single-season win total in school history. In addition, Esposito was voted LSC South Coach of the Year in 2001.

He took over as Head Coach at NCAA Division II powerhouse Assumption College in 1995 after a six-year stint as assistant and associate head coach. The Greyhounds rattled off three straight Northeast-10 Conference Championships and notched a pair of NCAA Division II regional appearances. Assumption also set single-season records for wins and winning streaks at the school.

Esposito also worked as an assistant coach at Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park under legendary Head Coach Duane Davis, and was Head Coach at The Villages Charter High School in The Villages, FL. His team had the best record in school history and went to the 3A District Final Four for the first time in school history.

Esposito has spent the last three years as a basketball analyst with ESPN Las Vegas. He had a weekly spot on the Cofield and Company show called “Coach Joe Knows”. Esposito is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches as an associate emeritus member with over 30 years in the organization and has written 9 publications throughout his career.

A native of The Bronx, New York, Esposito earned his Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Marist College in 1988, and a Master of Science degree in sports administration and coaching from the United States Sports Academy in 1990.

He and his wife, Mary, have two sons, Jordan and Jacob, along with two daughters, Shay and Harmony.