Skyhawk Men’s Basketball Welcomes Garrett Sams Back To Coaching Staff
7/10/2026 10:19:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Tennessee at Martin head men's basketball coach has announced the addition of assistant coach Garrett Sams to the Skyhawk staff for the 2026-27 campaign.
This is Sams' second stint with the UT Martin men's hoops program as he also served as a graduate assistant for the 2021-22 season under former head coach Ryan Ridder.
"I am so excited to bring Garrett to our staff," said Shulman, who will enter his third season at the helm in 2026-27. "He's such an incredibly bright young basketball mind and an elite developer of players as well. Garrett will have a huge impact for us, especially on the offensive side of the ball."
A Martin native, Sams spent the last two seasons in the NBA as he was a player development video coordinator with the Memphis Grizzlies. In that role, he worked alongside head coaches Tuomas Iisalo and Taylor Jenkins as the Grizzlies made a playoff appearance with a 48-34 record in 2024-25. He also spent the 2023-24 season as a graduate assistant under head coach Scott Drew at Baylor as he was part of a Bears squad that posted 24 victories and won a game in the NCAA Tournament.
During his first stretch on the Skyhawk coaching staff, Sams aided in the development of 14 newcomers. That list included KJ Simon, who was the only NCAA Division I player to average at least 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game in 2021-22. Simon went on to claim All-Ohio Valley Conference first team, OVC All-Newcomer and National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 18 second team accolades.
Sams was an accomplished four-year performer at the University of North Florida. Playing under head coach Matthew Driscoll, Sams helped the Ospreys to a 37-23 ASUN Conference record during his tenure, leading the program to the 2019-20 ASUN co-regular season championship.
Sams tallied 1,538 points, 548 rebounds, 226 assists and 121 steals over 123 collegiate contests, shooting 38.6 percent (241-of-624) from three-point range and 80.2 percent (357-for-445) from the free throw line. He left as the school's third-leading all-time scorer and ranked first in the program's Division I Era (since 2005) in free throws made. He was a first team All-ASUN performer as a senior, an All-ASUN Freshman and a two-time ASUN All-Tournament selection (2019 and 2018). He was also named to the ASUN All-Decade team for all student-athletes competing from 2010-20.
Following his collegiate career, Sams played professionally for the Paderborn Unibaskets (2020-21) and the Vfl SparkassenStars Bochum (2022-23) organizations in the German Pro A League.
A four-year standout at Westview High School, Sams graduated from North Florida with a degree in sports management in 2020.
This is Sams' second stint with the UT Martin men's hoops program as he also served as a graduate assistant for the 2021-22 season under former head coach Ryan Ridder.
"I am so excited to bring Garrett to our staff," said Shulman, who will enter his third season at the helm in 2026-27. "He's such an incredibly bright young basketball mind and an elite developer of players as well. Garrett will have a huge impact for us, especially on the offensive side of the ball."
A Martin native, Sams spent the last two seasons in the NBA as he was a player development video coordinator with the Memphis Grizzlies. In that role, he worked alongside head coaches Tuomas Iisalo and Taylor Jenkins as the Grizzlies made a playoff appearance with a 48-34 record in 2024-25. He also spent the 2023-24 season as a graduate assistant under head coach Scott Drew at Baylor as he was part of a Bears squad that posted 24 victories and won a game in the NCAA Tournament.
During his first stretch on the Skyhawk coaching staff, Sams aided in the development of 14 newcomers. That list included KJ Simon, who was the only NCAA Division I player to average at least 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game in 2021-22. Simon went on to claim All-Ohio Valley Conference first team, OVC All-Newcomer and National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 18 second team accolades.
Sams was an accomplished four-year performer at the University of North Florida. Playing under head coach Matthew Driscoll, Sams helped the Ospreys to a 37-23 ASUN Conference record during his tenure, leading the program to the 2019-20 ASUN co-regular season championship.
Sams tallied 1,538 points, 548 rebounds, 226 assists and 121 steals over 123 collegiate contests, shooting 38.6 percent (241-of-624) from three-point range and 80.2 percent (357-for-445) from the free throw line. He left as the school's third-leading all-time scorer and ranked first in the program's Division I Era (since 2005) in free throws made. He was a first team All-ASUN performer as a senior, an All-ASUN Freshman and a two-time ASUN All-Tournament selection (2019 and 2018). He was also named to the ASUN All-Decade team for all student-athletes competing from 2010-20.
Following his collegiate career, Sams played professionally for the Paderborn Unibaskets (2020-21) and the Vfl SparkassenStars Bochum (2022-23) organizations in the German Pro A League.
A four-year standout at Westview High School, Sams graduated from North Florida with a degree in sports management in 2020.
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