Ball State Men’s Basketball hires new head coach

Ball State Athletics has announced that Chris Capko has been signed as the new Men’s Basketball coach.

Capko, who has been an assistant at Southern Methodist University for the past two seasons, brings a load of experience to Muncie. Capko began his coaching career at Marshall as a graduate assistant before moving onto Stetson and then Georgia Southern.

Most of Capko’s experience comes under head coach Andy Enfield, who he coached under at both USC and SMU.

Capko spent eight seasons at USC between 2016-2024, where he served as an assistant and associate head coach. In 2024 he followed Enfield to SMU where he spent two seasons.

In his time with the Mustangs, he was named one of the top “power 5 assistants” in the country by the Athletic, along with being one of the 50 Most Impactful high major assistant coaches by Silver Waves Media.

In his playing career, Capko started at the University of Florida, playing under legendary head coach Billy Donovan, but transferred after one semester there. He then transferred to the University of South Florida where he was a nominee for Big East Player of the Year during his senior campaign.

“Chris Capko is an exceptional basketball coach,” Ball State Athletic Director Jeff Mitchell said in a press release from the university. “His breadth of experience at the NCAA Division I level, combined with his elite recruiting acumen and expertise in player development, set him apart from an incredibly strong pool of candidates and made him the best coach to lead our program.”

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