Owens, Pritzl among new UWGB assistants
GREEN BAY – Freddie Owens is returning to Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee native and former University of Wisconsin standout is expected to join the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball team as part of Will Ryan’s first coaching staff.
Along with Owens, De Pere native and Hillsdale (Mich.) College assistant coach Brandon Pritzl and Northern State University associate head coach Jared Swanson are expected to be hired.
Owens was an assistant at Loyola University Maryland last season after spending the previous 10 years at schools that included Holy Cross, Utah Valley, Oregon State and Montana.
Owens played at Washington High School, where his team finished as the WIAA Division 1 state runner-up in 1997 and 2000.
He started his coaching career in 2007 at Adams State College before serving as a grad assistant at Iowa State.
Owens was a guard at Wisconsin from 2000 to 2004, playing his final three seasons for Ryan’s father, Bo. Will Ryan was a grad assistant on the staff during part of Owens’ career.
Owens averaged 7.2 points during his four seasons and went to the NCAA tournament each year. He led the Badgers to the Sweet 16 in 2003 after hitting a game-winning 3 from the left corner to beat Tulsa 61-60 in the second round.
Ryan is unable to comment or confirm the hires until they are made official.
Pritzl also is coming home.
The former De Pere basketball star and Ryan are familiar with each other thanks to their time at Ohio University, where Ryan was an assistant under Saul Phillips. Pritzl was a grad assistant at the school for two years before leaving in 2016.
Pritzl has served as an assistant under John Tharp the past four seasons at NCAA Division II Hillsdale College in Michigan, where he played from 2010 to 2014. Tharp promoted Pritzl to associate head coach in April. He was the longesttenured assistant on staff until leaving for UWGB.
Pritzl scored 1,337 points at De Pere and was the Fox River Classic Conference player of the year as a senior in 2010. He was a three-year starter at shooting guard at Hillsdale and finished his collegiate career with 843 points while also serving as a defensive stopper. He twice was named to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference all-defensive team.
Swanson is part of the Phillips coaching tree, spending last season at NSU with Phillips after previously working for him at NDSU and Ohio.
Ryan was an assistant under Phillips at NDSU from 2007 to 2014 and at Ohio from 2014 to 2019. Swanson started his coaching career as a grad assistant at Boise State University.