LONG BEACH, Calif. – Chris Acker has added a veteran coaching voice to the staff, tabbing Greg Howell to join the program as an assistant coach starting immediately.
Howell has over ten years of coaching experience, most recently spending the past two seasons at Arizona State. With ASU, Howell served as the Director of Recruiting and Player Personnel, helping fill the Sun Devil roster including the top two scorers from 2025-26 in Moe Odum and Massamba Diop. He moved to Tempe following four seasons at Rice, where he helped the Owls make back-to-back postseason appearances for just the third time in school history.
“I’m incredibly grateful and excited to join Long Beach State and be a part of such a proud basketball tradition,” said Howell. “Coming back home to California makes this opportunity even more meaningful for me and my family. I’d like to thank Coach Acker and the entire administration for believing in me and allowing me to be a part of building something special.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with tremendous players, coaches and staff who have helped shape my approach to recruiting, player development, and culture building. I’m passionate about developing meaningful relationships with our student-athletes and helping them grow both on and off the court. I look forward to bringing energy, toughness and a relentless work ethic to this program every single day.”
Howell was hired at Rice as a video coordinator, but worked as an assistant before the end of his first season in Houston. His work with Max Fiedler helped him become one of the best big men in Conference USA, as he finished in the top ten in C-USA in rebounding, assists, assist-to-turnover ratio and double-doubles while setting a Rice record for single-season field goal percentage.
Before his time at Rice, Howell spent four years as Director and Head Coach of the Team Harden AAU basketball program, where he handled all administrative responsibilities while developing and implementing training programs for all teams. Before Team Harden, Howell served as a Marketing Associate and Scouting Assistant for the Houston Rockets. While with the Rockets, he assisted with online scouting of future potential prospects while creating detailed reports on players’ on-court performance.
Howell played basketball and graduated from Artesia High School in Lakewood, winning a CIF Section and State Title in 2006. He then played for two seasons locally at Cerritos College before transferring to Waldorf University, where he starred for two seasons. At Waldorf, he recorded 81 career steals, the sixth most in school history. Howell received his bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing and Sports Management from Waldorf in 2012.
Howell has over ten years of coaching experience, most recently spending the past two seasons at Arizona State. With ASU, Howell served as the Director of Recruiting and Player Personnel, helping fill the Sun Devil roster including the top two scorers from 2025-26 in Moe Odum and Massamba Diop. He moved to Tempe following four seasons at Rice, where he helped the Owls make back-to-back postseason appearances for just the third time in school history.
“I’m incredibly grateful and excited to join Long Beach State and be a part of such a proud basketball tradition,” said Howell. “Coming back home to California makes this opportunity even more meaningful for me and my family. I’d like to thank Coach Acker and the entire administration for believing in me and allowing me to be a part of building something special.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with tremendous players, coaches and staff who have helped shape my approach to recruiting, player development, and culture building. I’m passionate about developing meaningful relationships with our student-athletes and helping them grow both on and off the court. I look forward to bringing energy, toughness and a relentless work ethic to this program every single day.”
Howell was hired at Rice as a video coordinator, but worked as an assistant before the end of his first season in Houston. His work with Max Fiedler helped him become one of the best big men in Conference USA, as he finished in the top ten in C-USA in rebounding, assists, assist-to-turnover ratio and double-doubles while setting a Rice record for single-season field goal percentage.
Before his time at Rice, Howell spent four years as Director and Head Coach of the Team Harden AAU basketball program, where he handled all administrative responsibilities while developing and implementing training programs for all teams. Before Team Harden, Howell served as a Marketing Associate and Scouting Assistant for the Houston Rockets. While with the Rockets, he assisted with online scouting of future potential prospects while creating detailed reports on players’ on-court performance.
Howell played basketball and graduated from Artesia High School in Lakewood, winning a CIF Section and State Title in 2006. He then played for two seasons locally at Cerritos College before transferring to Waldorf University, where he starred for two seasons. At Waldorf, he recorded 81 career steals, the sixth most in school history. Howell received his bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing and Sports Management from Waldorf in 2012.
