UConn has found its next men’s basketball general manager.
The Huskies are hiring San Antonio Spurs director of grassroots scouting Charlie Stevens to be their next GM, sources confirmed to the Norwich Bulletin. Social media account Hardwood Intel first reported the news on Saturday night.
Stevens will be replacing longtime GM and assistant coach Tom Moore, who announced his retirement three weeks ago.
Stevens, a Bronx native, played college basketball at Division III Clark University in Worchester from 2017 to 2021 where he was a two-year captain. Throughout his time in college, Stevens made connections that ultimately led him to landing a job in the NBA.
While taking a marketing class in college, Stevens met former Adidas executive Lawrence Norman, whom he built a close relationship with.
Stevens told the Clark University News in 2022 that he sent a scouting report of 40 players he believed should play in the NBA to every team in the league to see if he could land an opportunity in the scouting department.
“No one asked me to do this,” he told Clark University. “But I figured if I include work samples with my résumé, maybe it separates me from the thousands of kids also trying to break into this industry.”
After college, the Spurs hired Stevens to be a basketball operations strategist and scouting assistant.
From there, Stevens moved through the organization where he eventually became the director of grassroots scouting.
Following Moore’s retirement, Hurley said that he wanted the next GM to be someone who can work to find players throughout the season.
“We're the type of program that just we coach our players, we coach our team. We're not off on planes looking for the next player,” Hurley said last week. “I think we're looking for someone that is going to identify that next class for us a little bit earlier and be able to get out internationally. Then, obviously prepare us with different scenarios once the portal opens for the way that we like to use the portal. I think there's other parts of that job as well, but I think it’s somebody that can help us put together the most talented roster that can that fit our culture and identity.”
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: UConn men’s basketball tabs Charlie Stevens as next GM