Jareem Dowling - Men's Basketball Coach - Kansas State University Athletics

K-State Men's Basketball vs. Arizona, February 11, 2025. Final: KSU 73, UA 70.

(Photo: Will Huster/K-State Sports)

Photo by: Will Huster/K-State Sports

Jareem Dowling

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
jdowling@kstatesports.com
Phone:
(785) 532-6531
Instagram:
4evercoachreemvi/

Jareem Dowling At A Glance

Helped K-State post its third-highest win total (26) and the Elite Eight in his first season in 2022-23
Has 19 years of coaching experience as well as 12 years of international head coaching experience
Has been a part of coaching staffs that have won more than 400 games -- averaging nearly 23 wins per season in his career
Was part of a staff that won the 2006 NJCAA Division II National Championship at Cecil (Md.) College as well as 2021 NCAA Tournament at North Texas
Was a head coach at the prep school level at Scotland Performance Institute in 2015-16

Features (click on headline for link)

The Man Behind the Phone (K-State Sports Extra, May 15, 2023)
Dowling Brings Vibrant Personality to K-State (K-State Sports Extra, April 7, 2022)

Pronounced Jah-Reem

Jareem Dowling is in his fourth season at Kansas State in 2025-26 after being the first announced member of head coach Jerome Tang’s inaugural coaching staff on March 29, 2022.

Dowling has been part of a coaching staff that has helped reenergize a K-State program the past three seasons, leading the Wildcats to 61 wins, including 28 in Big 12 play, with consecutive postseason appearances (2023 NCAA Tournament, 2024 NIT) highlighted by the run to the 2023 Elite Eight.

During their memorable first season in 2022-23, Dowling helped the Wildcats to their third-highest win total (26) and a thrilling run to the Elite Eight despite being picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll after three consecutive losing seasons.

Among the 61 wins at K-State are 16 against teams ranked in the Top 25, including 7 Top 10 opponents. The 16 career Top 25 wins tie for the fourth-most in school history, while the 7 against Top 10 competition also ranks fourth all-time. Thirteen of the 16 ranked wins have come in the friendly confines of Bramlage Coliseum, where Tang is 39-9 (.813) overall, including 21-7 (.750) in Big 12 play and 13-4 (.765) against ranked foes. The 13-career home Top 25 wins are the second-most in school history.

Dowling assisted in the development of a pair of All-Americans in Bob Cousy Award winner Markquis Nowell and Julius Erving Award finalist Keyontae Johnson, who were the only teammates nationally to earn All-America honors in 2022-23. They became the first duo in school history to each earn All-American recognition from The Associated Press when they were selected to the Third Team. Both were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Johnson was the league's Newcomer of the Year.

Following the season, Johnson became the first Wildcat since 2017 to be selected in the NBA Draft, as he was taken in the second round with the 50th pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder. In addition, Nowell signed a 2-way contract with the Toronto Raptors on draft night.

In addition to his work with Johnson and Nowell, Dowling has helped develop four more All-Big 12 performers in Third Team selection Coleman Hawkins (2024-25) and honorable mention picks Arthur Kaluma (2023-24), David N’Guessan (2024-25) and Tylor Perry (2023-24).

With Dowling helping to run the defensive scheme, the Wildcats have ranked among KenPom’s top-40 in adjusted defensive efficiency the past three seasons, including 27th (95.0) in 2022-23, 25th (96.8) in 2023-24 and 36th (97.2) in 2024-25. They also ranked 24th in opponent 3-point field goal percentage (30.8) in 2022-23 and 23rd in effective defensive field goal percentage (46.8) in 2023-24. The team has totaled 200 or more steals in each of the past three seasons, including a near school single-season record 289 in 2022-23, while they registered 139 blocks in 2023-24, which are the fifth-most in a single season.

Nowell, who ranked second nationally in steals in 2022-23, broke three individual school records for steals, including single season total (92) and per game average (2.56 spg.) as well as career average (2.40).

Dowling has continued to be praised for his abilities to recruit at a high level, as he has helped construct some of the top transfer classes in the country at K-State. All-conference selections Hawkins, Kaluma, N’Guessan and Perry were all high-level transfer portal additions. That recruiting momentum continued this off-season with the additions of five Division I transfers (Abdi Bashir Jr., PJ Haggerty, Marcus Johnson, Nate Johnson, Khamari McGriff), a pair of international standouts (Andrej Kostic and Elias Rapieque), a junior college player (Stephen Osei) and a top-50 high school senior (Exavier Wilson).

In addition to their on-court success, Dowling and the staff helped the team set marks for academic success, as the cumulative team GPA (2.993) as well as the Fall 2022 (2.998) and Spring 2023 (2.903) semester GPAs were the highest in program history.

An assistant coach with 18 years of experience as well as 12 years of international head coaching experience, Dowling came to K-State after spending the six seasons (2016-22) on staff with current Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland at both Arkansas State (2016-17) and North Texas (2017-22). In addition to his time with the Red Wolves and Mean Green, he has also been an assistant at the NJCAA level at Cecil College in Maryland (2005-08), the Division II level at Slippery Rock (2008-11) as well as Morehead State (2011-12) and Southern Miss (2012-15).

Dowling also has extensive international experience having served as the head coach for the U.S. Virgin Islands Junior National Team as well as an assistant coach on the Senior National Team since 2007. During his time with the junior team, he has guided them to two silver medals (2008 U16 Centrobasket and 2015 U17 Centrobasket) and two bronze medals (2009 and 2011 U17 Centrobasket) at international competitions.

Dowling has been a part of coaching staffs that have won 406 games – averaging nearly 23 wins per season in his coaching career – and advanced to the postseason on 11 occasions, including the 2006 NJCAA Division II National Championship, a memorable run to the Second Round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament with North Texas and the Elite Eight at K-State in 2022-23. He has also helped teams to 13 seasons of at least 20 wins, including three 30-win campaigns, and collect four conference titles (2014, 2020, 2021, 2022).

In addition, Dowling has head coaching experience at the prep school level, guiding Scotland Performance Institute in Scotland, Pennsylvania to 19 wins in 2015-16.

PRIOR TO K-STATE
Dowling spent five seasons (2017-22) at North Texas, where he helped the Mean Green set the school single season records for overall wins (25) and conference wins (16) en route to collecting a third consecutive Conference USA Championship in 2021-22. In addition, the team ended the season with the nation’s best scoring defense (55.7 ppg.), which was the best such mark in Conference USA history.

Dowling assisted in the recruitment and development of several high-level Mean Green players, including Javion Hamlet, the 2020 C-USA Player of the Year and Male Student-Athlete of the Year and 2021 C-USA Tournament MVP, as well as Roosevelt Smart, who became the program’s single-season scoring record holder with 742 points (19.5 ppg.) in 2017-18. In 2021-22, four Mean Green players earned All-Conference USA honors, including Newcomer of the Year and First Team selection Tylor Perry.

In his time at North Texas, Dowling helped lead the Mean Green to 104 total wins, three conference championships, the program’s first wins in both the NCAA Tournament and NIT, a 2018 CBI Championship, the most wins (25) in a single season and twice setting the school record for most conference wins in a season.

When Dowling and the staff joined UNT in 2017-18 they inherited a program that had won just eight games.

During the record-breaking 2021-22 season, Dowling was part of a staff that helped North Texas to a 25-7 overall record, including a 16-2 mark in Conference USA, and a first-ever trip to the NIT. In addition to setting the school’s single season marks for overall and conference wins, the team won a program-best 15 consecutive games from early January until early March. The No. 2 seed Mean Green beat Texas State, 67-63, in overtime to claim the school’s first-ever NIT victory before losing in the second round at Virginia, 71-69, in overtime.

Dowling and the staff navigated the challenges of COVID-19 to post arguably the greatest season in school history in 2020-21, as the Mean Green claimed their first NCAA Tournament win with a 78-69 overtime victory over Purdue on March 19, 2021. It was the first victory over an AP Top 25 opponent since 1972. The team earned their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010 by winning four games in four days at the C-USA Tournament to capture their first league tournament title in 11 years with a 61-57 overtime victory over Western Kentucky.

North Texas had posted its third consecutive 20-win season in 2019-20 and were the No. 1 seed at the 2020 C-USA Tournament before the postseason was cancelled due to COVID-19. The Mean Green went a then program-best 14-4 in league play, ending an 11-game skid against Western Kentucky to win the regular season championship. The team were one of just four nationally to rank among the top 25 nationally in both overall field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage during the season.

Dowling helped the Mean Green increase their win total by 12 games in year one and capture the school’s first NCAA National Tournament Championship with the College Basketball Invitational Tournament title in 2017-18. The success carried overall into year two in 2018-19, as UNT began the season with a program-best 16-1 start.

Dowling followed McCasland to North Texas after one season (2016-17) at Arkansas State, where he helped the Red Wolves double their win total with a 20-12 overall record, including an 11-7 mark in Sun Belt play.

Dowling spent one season (2015-16) as the head coach at the Scotland Performance Institute, where he developed several players that went on to earn college scholarships, including three with Division I programs.

Dowling was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Southern Miss from 2012-15, helping the Golden Eagles post a 65-37 (.637) record and a pair of NIT appearances. The team won 27 games in 2012-13 and captured their first postseason victories since 1988 with their trip to the NIT Quarterfinals, while they collected a school-record 29 wins in 2013-14 and claimed a share of the C-USA regular-season title.

Dowling moved to Southern Miss after spending one season (2011-12) at Morehead State, where he helped the Eagles win 18 games, including 10 in Ohio Valley Conference play.

Prior to Morehead State, Dowling was an assistant at Division II program Slippery Rock for three seasons (2008-11), helping the Rock post three consecutive winning seasons, including 21-win campaigns in 2008-09 and 2010-11.

Dowling began his coaching career as an assistant coach for his former college coach and mentor, the legendary Bill Lewit at Cecil College in North East, Maryland in 2005, helping lead the Seahawks to a 97-6 (.942) record in three years. He was part of winning three Maryland JUCO regular season championships, two region tournament championships and one NJCAA Division II National Championship. During his tenure, Cecil finished No. 1 in the final regular season NJCAA national rankings all three years.

Dowling started his college playing career at Cecil, where he played two seasons (2000-03) before transferring and becoming a two-year starter and two-time captain at Maryland-Eastern Shore (2003-05). He was a two-year starter for the Seahawks, leading the team to the 2001 Maryland JUCO regular-season championship as a freshman before returning from an injury in 2001-02 to guide the squad to the Region XX Championship and NJCAA Division II Final Four as a sophomore in 2003. His two-year record at Cecil was 51-11, playing with nine eventual Division I players.

A native of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dowling moved to the Wilmington, Delaware during his high school years. He led Howard High School to the Blue Hen Flight B Championship game and a trip to the state’s final four as a senior in 2000 en route to earning honorable mention all-state and first team all-conference honors. In addition, he qualified for the 2000 Delaware State Blue and Gold All-Star Game.

Dowling earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UMES in 2005, while he added a master’s degree in Sports Management from California University of Pennsylvania in 2011.

Dowling and his wife, Cierra, have two daughters, Laiya and Levi.

Coaching Experience
Assistant Coach, Cecil College [Md.], 2005-08
Assistant Coach, Slippery Rock [Pa.], 2008-11
Assistant Coach, Morehead State, 2011-12
Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, Southern Miss, 2012-15
Head Coach, Scotland Performance Institute [Pa.], 2015-16
Assistant Coach, Arkansas State, 2016-17
Assistant Coach, North Texas, 2017-22
Head Coach, U.S. Virgin Islands Junior National Team, 2007-present
Assistant Coach, U.S. Virgin Islands Senior National Team, 2007-present
Assistant Coach, Kansas State, 2022-present

Playing Career
Cecil College [Md.], 2000-03
Maryland-Eastern Shore, 2003-05

Education
Associate’s Degree in General Studies, Cecil College [Md.], 2003
Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology, Maryland-Eastern Shore, 2005
Master’s Degree in Sports Management, California University [Pa.], 2011

Personal
Wife: Cierra
Children: daughters Laiya and Levi

Jareem Dowling Year-by-Year

Year	School	Overall	Conference	Postseason
2005-06	Cecil (Md.) College	33-2 (.943)	--	NJCAA Division II Champions
2006-07	Cecil (Md.) College	33-3 (.917)	--	NJCAA Division II Tournament (5th)
2007-08	Cecil (Md.) College	31-1 (.969)	--	NJCAA Division II Playoffs
2008-09	Slippery Rock (Pa.)	21-8 (.724)	11-3 (2nd West)	--
2009-10	Slippery Rock (Pa.)	15-12 (.556)	4-10 (7th West)	--
2010-11	Slippery Rock (Pa.)	21-11 (.656)	9-5 (3rd West)	NCAA Division II First Round
2011-12	Morehead State	18-14 (.563)	10-6 (3rd)	--
2012-13	Southern Miss	27-10 (.730)	12-4 (2nd)	NIT Quarterfinals
2013-14	Southern Miss	29-7 (.806)	13-3 (t-1st)	NIT Quarterfinals
2014-15	Southern Miss	9-20 (.310)	4-14 (13th)	--
2016-17	Arkansas State	20-12 (.625)	11-7 (t-3rd)	--
2017-18	North Texas	20-18 (.526)	8-10 (t-7th)	CBI Champions
2018-19	North Texas	21-12 (.636)	8-10 (t-9th)	--
2019-20	North Texas	20-11 (.645)	14-4 (1st)	Canceled due to COVID-19
2020-21	North Texas	18-10 (.643)	9-5 (3rd West)	NCAA Second Round
2021-22	North Texas	25-7 (.781)	16-2 (1st West)	NIT Second Round
2022-23	K-State	26-10 (.722)	11-7 (t-3rd)	NCAA Elite Eight
2023-24	K-State	19-15 (.559)	8-10 (t-9th)	NIT First Round
2024-25	K-State	16-17 (.485)	9-11 (t-9th)	--
Totals	19 years	422-200 (.679)	157-111 (.586)	11 Postseason Appearances