Odom Adds Henry, Crawford and Theus as Assistant Coaches
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia Dean and Markel Families Men’s Head Basketball Coach Ryan Odom announced Wednesday (April 2) the additions of assistant coaches Matt Henry, Bryce Crawford and Darius Theus to his staff.
The trio of assistants helped VCU to a 52-21 record from 2023-25 and an appearance in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. VCU finished 28-7, won the Atlantic-10 Tournament and shared the A-10 regular-season championship in 2024-25. VCU’s Max Shulga earned A-10 Player of the Year honors and Jack Clark was the A-10 Tournament MVP. In 2023-24, the Rams advanced to the NIT quarterfinals and finished with a 24-14 record.
Henry and Crawford served as assistant coaches under Odom at Utah State from 2021-23, while Theus was an assistant coach at Siena in 2022-23.
Matt Henry
Henry’s efforts at Utah State helped steer the program to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023, as well as an NIT berth in 2022. Utah State’s 2022-23 squad won 26 games and reached the Mountain West title game before falling to eventual NCAA runner-up San Diego State.
“Matt is a high-character coach who brings invaluable experience to our staff,” Odom said. “He is a relentless worker with a strong basketball mind.”
Henry followed Odom to Utah State after spending three years on his staff at UMBC. Henry helped the Retrievers to their historic win over top-ranked Virginia in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and America East regular-season conference championship in 2020-21.
Prior to his three years at UMBC, Henry was an assistant coach at St. Peter’s for five seasons, helping the Peacocks capture the 2017 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) title, the program’s first-ever national postseason tournament championship.
The Alexandria, Virginia, native graduated from Trinity in 2001 with a degree in urban studies and political science.
Bryce Crawford
Crawford spent two seasons with Odom in Logan, where he worked closely with the Aggies’ guards. In addition to Utah State’s 2023 NCAA and 2022 NIT appearances, Crawford’s efforts helped the Aggies’ guard-friendly offense rise to No. 16 nationally in offensive efficiency in 2022-23.
“Bryce is an outstanding coach with infectious energy,” Odom said. “He possesses a versatile skill set of teaching, recruiting and mentoring for our players.”
Prior to his time at Utah State, Crawford spent five seasons at UMBC under Odom. With the Retrievers, Crawford helped the squad to the America East Conference regular-season title in 2020-21 along with three-straight 20-plus win seasons. Crawford helped UMBC record its historic NCAA Tournament victory as the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed with the win over Virginia.
Crawford was also a member of Odom’s staff at Lenoir-Rhyne, serving as an assistant and helping the Bears to the NCAA Division II Regional Finals for the first time in school history.
Crawford graduated from Ohio State in 2011 with a degree in communication analysis and spent four years as a student manager for the Buckeyes’ men’s basketball program.
Darius Theus
Theus served as an assistant coach during the 2022-23 season on Carmen Maciariello’s staff at Siena, where he helped the Saints to a 17-15 mark.
“Darius is a gifted coach with Final Four experience as a player,” Odom said. “He is elite at developing players and helping them grow their skills and character.”
Prior to his stint at Siena, he worked as VCU’s director of player development from 2018-22, where he helped the Rams secure a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. He was also integral in the development of future NBA draft picks Bones Hyland (2021) and Vince Williams (2022).
Theus spent the 2017-18 season as director of player development at Texas, where he helped the Longhorns to an NCAA Tournament berth. He also worked as VCU’s director of student-athlete development during the 2016-17 season, when the Rams won 26 games and reached the NCAA Tournament.
As a player, Theus appeared in three NCAA Tournaments with VCU, including the Rams’ historic Final Four run in 2011. The Norfolk, Virginia, native finished his career ranked third in school history in steals (237) and sixth in assists (462), and fourth in single-season steals (85) as a senior in 2012-13.