SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Head Coach
Marty Richter has announced the appointment of new assistant coach Vince Fritz, who will join the staff as an assistant coach ahead of the 2025-26 season with the Spartans.
Fritz joins Upstate Men's Basketball after a year as the assistant coach with Hutchinson Community College aiding in the Blue Dragon going 19-12 with a Quarterfinal appearance in the NJCAA Region six tournament. Before his time at Hutchinson, Fritz was named as the Director of Basketball Operations in August of 2022 at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale and then was elevated to the assistant coach in July of 2023. During his time as assistant coach, Fritz assisted in helping lead the team to 19 wins while assisting in the development coaching a first team All-MVC member, MVC Scholar-Athlete, and a captain to the Missouri Valley Conference most improved team.
Fritz was raised in Overland Park, Kan., graduating from Blue Valley Northwest High School in 2014. A four-year letter winner, Fritz was a two-time all-state performer who helped his team to a pair of KSHSAA 6A State Titles. During his junior season, BVNW went 25-0 and finished 19th nationally, as ranked by USA Today. A two-time first-team Eastern Kansas League selection, Fritz finished as the third-leading scorer in school history. He also played football at BVNW, earning all-league accolades as a punter and defensive back.
After his success with the Huskies, Fritz spent his freshman season at Sacred Heart (Conn.) University. He then transferred to Missouri Southern, aiding the Lions to a 56-34 mark in his three years. In 2017-18, Missouri Southern went 20-10, finished second in the MIAA and reached the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
After graduating from MSSU in 2018, Fritz attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he earned his master's in educational administration and served as a Graduate Manager under Tim Miles in 2018-19 and Fred Hoiberg in 2019-20.
Fritz comes from an athletic family. His father, Ed, has over 600 wins at the high school level in Kansas and has won four state titles since 2013 after playing at Baker University. His mother, Ann Costello, played collegiately in Nebraska from 1984-86, and captured a trio of state titles at Blue Valley North. His uncle, Willie Fritz, is currently the head football coach at Houston. One of his grandfathers, Vince Costello, is a member of the Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame and another, Harry Fritz, was a college football coach and executive director of the NAIA. Fritz has four siblings, Tyler, Tara, Jordan and Luke.
"I'm excited to have Vince join our coaching staff. He has great energy and a high basketball IQ", Richter mentioned. "His experience under the tutelage of four successful coaches at the D1 is already helping to bring new ideas to Upstate basketball. The players respond well to his on floor coaching, and his transition to his new coaching family has been effortless."
