Darren Guensch joined the Cavaliers as an assistant coach on April 17, 2026.
Guensch (pronounced GENCH), arrives after one season at Virginia Tech where he played a key role in recruiting and player development while helping the Hokies to a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He brings over 20 years of Division I coaching experience to the sideline, four of which were spent alongside Roussell for three seasons at Richmond (2020-22) and one season at Bucknell (2019).
Raised in Leesburg, Va., Guensch owns degrees from two different institutions in the Commonwealth (Radford and George Mason) and has spent time coaching at George Mason, VCU, Richmond and Virginia Tech.
Prior to Virginia Tech, Guensch served as associate head coach at Missouri State for three seasons where he helped the Lady Bears to a 69-31 record and captured the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference regular season title. Working with the point guards, Guensch guided three players to All-MVC selections and one Defensive Player of the Year Accolade.
While serving on Roussell’s staff at Richmond, Guensch worked closely with the post players while developing two All-Atlantic 10 selections as well as the A10 Rookie of the Year, and Sixth Woman of the Year.
Prior to arriving in Richmond, Guensch was on Roussell’s staff for his final season at Bucknell and helped lead the Bison to a program-record 28 wins, the Patriot League regular season and tournament titles, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. He coached three all-conference and all-tournament team players as the Bison went 15-1 at home and broke the program’s three-pointers made record with 283 on the season.
From 2016-2018, Guensch served as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at East Carolina, where he helped the Pirates to an impressive five-win improvement in league play from the 2016-17 season to the 2017-18 season. The turnaround was led by Guensch’s 2017 recruiting class, which accounted for 67% of the team’s points and 54% of its rebounds.
Prior to his time at East Carolina, Guensch spent six seasons as an assistant coach at three different Division I schools: College of Charleston (2014-16), UNCG (2012-14), and VCU (2010-12). He also held the title of recruiting coordinator at both College of Charleston and UNCG.
Guensch began his collegiate coaching career at VCU where he spent the first two seasons as the director of basketball operations before being promoted to assistant coach. The Rams went 86-47 during his four seasons with the program and qualified for four national postseason tournaments. They made their first ever NCAA Tournament in 2009 and followed that with three straight appearances in the WNIT. While at VCU, Guensch also coached the perimeter players and oversaw the largest team camp in the state of Virginia.
Guensch served as the director of basketball operations for two seasons at George Mason from 2006-08. He also spent one season as an assistant coach at Loudoun County High School in northern Virginia in 2005.
He graduated from Radford in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in exercise, sport and health education before earning a master's degree in the same discipline at George Mason in 2012.
Guensch and his wife Devon have a son, Miles, and a daughter, Layna.