.png&width=48&height=48&type=webp)
Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- kmsampso@central.uh.edu
| ABOUT KELLEN SAMPSON | |
| Hometown | Norman, Okla. |
| College | Oklahoma '06; '09 |
| Family | Married – Wife, Tonya Daughter – Maisy Son – Kylen |
| COACHING EXPERIENCE | |
| Year | Team, Position |
| 2014 – | Houston, Assistant Coach |
| 2011-14 | Appalachian State, Assistant Coach |
| 2010-11 | Stephen F. Austin, Assistant Coach |
| 2009-10 | Oklahoma, Assistant Strength & Conditioning |
| 2008-09 | Oklahoma, Graduate Assistant |
| 2007-08 | Indiana, Graduate Assistant |
| CHAMPIONSHIPS | |
| 2024-25 | • Big 12 Champions • Big 12 Tournament Champions |
| 2023-24 | Big 12 Conference Champions |
| 2022-23 | American Athletic Tournament Champions |
| 2021-22 | • American Athletic Champions • American Athletic Tournament Champions |
| 2020-21 | • NCAA Final Four • American Athletic Tournament Champions |
| 2019-20 | American Athletic Champions |
| 2018-19 | American Athletic Champions |
| NBA DRAFT SELECTIONS | |
| Year | Experience |
| 2024 | Jamal Shead (Toronto Raptors) | Second Round | #45 pick |
| 2023 | • Jarace Walker (Indiana Pacers) | First Round | #8 pick • Marcus Sasser (Detroit Pistons) | First Round | #25 pick |
| 2021 | Quentin Grimes (New York Knicks) | First Round | #25 pick |
| 2017 | Damyean Dotson (New York Knicks) | Second Round | #44 pick |
| PLAYING EXPERIENCE | |
| 2004-07 | Oklahoma |
| Three-year letterman | |
| Most Inspirational Award (2007) | |
| Connection to the Community Award (2007) | |
| Academic All-Big 12 First Team (2007) | |
| Team leader in 3-Pt FG% (2007) | |
Follow Coach Kellen Sampson on Twitter
Kellen Sampson joined the University of Houston Men’s Basketball program in April 2014 as an assistant coach. He assists in all aspects of the Houston Basketball program.
This is the first time that Sampson has worked for his father, Head Coach Kelvin Sampson, as a full-time assistant coach.
In June 2023, he signed a new contract, which formalized the coaching succession plan upon Kelvin Sampson’s departure from the program and designated him as head coach-in-waiting on the Houston staff.
During his time at Houston, Sampson has helped lead the Cougars to seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances – including the 2025 NCAA National Championship Game and the 2021 NCAA Final Four – and nine conference regular-season and tournament championships.
Houston has posted a 299-84 overall record with a 151-48 mark in conference games and sustained national prominence by being ranked in the Top 25 in the final Associated Press and USA TODAY Sports Coaches polls for eight consecutive years with Top 10 showings in each of the last five seasons.
at HOUSTON
In 2024-25, Sampson helped led the Cougars to one of the greatest seasons in program history.
The Cougars – who finished #2 in both national polls – set a school single-season record with 35 wins and advanced to the NCAA Tournament National Championship Game before falling to Florida inside Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Houston won 31 of its final 33 games to end the season and advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the seventh time in program history with a resounding 69-50 win over #6/6 (2) Tennessee during the Elite Eight in Indianapolis on March 30.
The Cougars swept the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships in their second year in the league and set school and league records with a 19-1 mark in conference games. Houston became the first school to join a major conference and win the regular-season title in each of its first two years in the league in more than 100 years.
In 2023-24, Houston advanced to the program’s fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, a school record.
The Cougars posted a 32-5 overall record and captured the Big 12 regular-season championship by two games over its closest competitor in its first year in the league, despite starting 1-2 in conference play.
Although several student-athletes were lost with season-ending injuries throughout the year, Houston recorded its third straight 30-win season – a school record – and was ranked in the Top 10 of both national polls for the entire campaign.
In 2022-23, Sampson helped lead the Cougars to a 33-4 overall record and a 17-1 mark in American Athletic Conference play.
The Cougars ranked among the nation’s Top-Six leaders in both national polls for the entire season and spent eight weeks at No. 1 for the first time since 1984.
Houston captured the American Athletic Conference regular-season title for the fourth time in a five-year stretch and swept the league’s postseason individual awards
The Cougars competed as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1983 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 or farther for the fourth straight season.
Following the season, forward Jarace Walker was taken in the NBA Draft with the No. 8 overall pick. He became the highest Cougar taken in the NBA Draft since 1984.
In 2021-22, Sampson helped lead the Cougars to an unforgettable campaign.
Overcoming injuries to two key personnel shortly before American Athletic Conference play started, the Cougars posted a 32-6 overall record, swept the league’s regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
It was only the fourth time in school history in which the Cougars swept a conference regular-season and tournament titles and the first time since 1991-92.
Sampson played a key role in the Cougars’ historic 2020-21 season.
With a 67-61 win over Oregon State on March 29, the Cougars returned to the NCAA Final Four, the program’s sixth Final Four appearance in school history.
Facing COVID-19 protocols throughout the season, the Cougars posted a 28-4 overall record and 14-3 mark in American play. The Cougars were ranked in both national polls for every week during the year and ended the campaign at No. 6 in the Associated Press and at No. 3 in the Ferris Mowers Coaches’ poll.
Houston capped the regular season with a thrilling, buzzer-beating win over Memphis inside the Fertitta Center and carried that momentum into the postseason.
The Cougars won three straight games in as many days to capture the American Athletic Conference Championship title inside Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, for the program first conference tournament title since 2010.
From there, Houston entered the NCAA Tournament bubble in Indianapolis. With wins over Cleveland State, Rutgers, Syracuse and Oregon State, the Cougars advanced to the program’s first NCAA Final Four since 1984.
Guard Quentin Grimes was named The American Player of the Year and collected similar honors at The American Championship. For his performance in the NCAA Tournament, guard DeJon Jarreau was named the Midwest Regional Most Outstanding Player.
In 2019-20, the Cougars compiled a 23-8 overall record and a 13-8 mark in American Athletic Conference play to earn the program’s second straight regular-season league title.
With its victory total, Houston recorded its fifth straight 20-win season, a first in school history.
The Cougars reeled off three straight wins in Hawai’i in December 2019, with a 75-71 win over No. 21/20 Washington in the title game to win the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic championship.
For the third straight season, the Cougars finished among the nation’s Top 25 in both polls, another first in program history.
In 2018-19, Sampson helped lead the Cougars to a record-setting campaign. Houston set a school record with 33 wins, captured the program’s first outright conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time since 1984 and finished among the Top 12 in both final national polls.
During the 2017-18 season, Houston posted a 27-8 record for the fifth-highest total in school single-season history and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the first time in more than 30 years.
The Cougars posted a perfect 15-0 home record at H&PE Arena and enjoyed multiple wins over Top-10 opponents.
In 2016-17, the Cougars enjoyed a 21-11 record for their second straight 20-win season and competed in the NIT for the second straight year, a first in program history since 2005 and 2006.
Sampson helped lead the Cougars to a 22-10 record in 2015-16 – only the 15th 22-win season in program history – and a berth in the NIT for the first time in a decade.
In his first season at Houston, Sampson helped lead the Cougars to 13 wins with four victories in their final five games to end the season. The Cougars also knocked off defending national champion UConn for the second straight season inside Hofheinz Pavilion and led the American Athletic Conference with 8.1 3-pointers per game.
He also assisted in the Cougars’ off-court work, serving Thanksgiving meals to Star of Hope Mission residents and leading a Texas Special Olympics event inside Hofheinz Pavilion.
PRE-HOUSTON
Sampson is no stranger to the college basketball coaching fraternity. He joined the Cougars after a three-year stint at Appalachian State from 2011 to 2014. In 2012-13, Sampson helped lead the Mountaineers to the Southern Conference Tournament semifinals and the top five in the league in scoring, field-goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage and blocks.
In his first season with Appalachian State, the Mountaineers reached the SoCon Tournament quarterfinals and were ranked among the league’s top-5 teams in field-goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage defense and blocks.
Sampson entered the full-time coaching ranks as an assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin in 2010-11. There, he helped guide the Lumberjacks to 18 wins, including an impressive 13-3 mark at home. SFA led the nation in scoring defense with only 56.7 points allowed per game and in 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.4), while Jereal Scott was named to the All-Southland Conference First Team.
He served as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma during the 2008-09 season and worked as strength and conditioning coach during the 2009-10 campaign. In addition, he also served as the program’s film exchange coordinator and assisted in scheduling official visits for recruits.
In two seasons, he was a part of an Oklahoma staff that won 43 games and advanced to the 2009 NCAA Elite Eight and helped produce four NBA Draft selections, including 2009 No. 1 overall pick and 2011 NBA Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin.
Following his 2006 graduation from Oklahoma, Sampson first served under his father at Indiana as a graduate assistant during the 2007-08 season when the Hoosiers posted a 25-8 overall record and 14-4 mark in Big Ten play.
PLAYING CAREER
Sampson competed at Oklahoma from 2004 to 2007. He earned three letters during that time and received the program’s Most Inspirational Award and Connection to the Community Award as a senior in 2006.
On the court, he led the Sooners, connecting on 44 percent of his shots from behind the arc as a senior. Off the court, he earned Academic All-Big 12 First-Team honors in 2007.
PERSONAL
Sampson earned two degrees from Oklahoma, graduating with honors in communications in 2006 and earning his master’s degree in intercollegiate athletics administration in 2009.
He is the third generation from his family to work as a coach. In addition to his father, his grandfather, John W. “Ned” Sampson, was a highly respected high school coach in Pembroke, N.C., and is a member of the North Carolina Coaching Hall of Fame.
Sampson and his wife, Tonya, have a daughter, Maisy, and a son, Kylen.
