Donovan Kates is in his third year as assistant coach for the Owls, after being hired in June of 2023.
During his time on the staff, the Owls have put together one of the best two-year stretches in the school's Division I history, having posted a 19-win season in 2024-25, and a 15-win season in 2023-24, which rank second and third all-time at KSU. This past season, the Owls recorded numerous firsts in program history, most notably the first-ever win over a Top-25 team (No. 24 Rutgers) and the first-ever Quad 1 victory (on the road at Liberty). Over the past two seasons, KSU has placed three players on the all-conference teams, and also had both the first-ever CUSA Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American (Adrian Wooley) in school history. During his first season, he was part of a recruiting staff that brought in the highest ranked class ever at KSU at No. 32, which was also the highest ranked non-Power Four class in the nation in 2023-24.
Kates came to the Black and Gold from Louisiana, where he helped the Ragin' Cajuns make their first NCAA appearance in nine years after winning the Sun Belt Championship in 2023. Prior to that, Kates spent four years in Tuscaloosa as the special assistant to the head coach, director of men's basketball video services, and two years as a graduate assistant manager (2018-20).
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He also was the boy's head prep coach at Combine Academy (Charlotte, N.C.) in 2017-18. Kates was a three-year starter at Manhattan (2011-15) and led the Jaspers to back-to-back MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances (2013-14, 2014-15). He received his bachelor's degree in communications from Manhattan in 2015, and a master's degree in sport business administration from Alabama in 2019.
