University of Arizona Athletics

Mark Phelps is in his fourth year as an assistant coach with the Arizona men’s basketball program, having joined Sean Miller’s staff in June 2015.

Phelps has spent a majority of his time working with the Wildcats' big men. Freshman Deandre Ayton became an All-American in 2017-18 and No. 1 overall pick while freshman Lauri Markkanen erupted on the scene in 2016-17. The Finland native finished in the top ten in numerous UA freshmen records and was voted to the Pac-12 All Conference First Team as well as the Pac-12 All-Freshmen team.

In his first season with the Wildcats, Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski earned all-conference honors from the Arizona front line while Tarczewski also earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. Anderson was the USBWA National Player of the Week following his 26.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in Arizona’s wins at Washington and Washington State.

The Virginia Beach, Va., native possesses over 20 years of experience at the Division I level, including five seasons as head coach at Drake University. He has made 15 postseason appearances as a college coach.

Phelps arrived in Tucson after spending the 2014-15 season assisting first-year head coach Steve Wojciechowski at Marquette. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach at Missouri during the 2013-14 campaign.

As head coach from 2009-13, Phelps guided Drake to 77 wins and a pair of postseason appearances. His 77 victories were the most in Drake history by a coach in his first five years at the school, and his win in the first round of the 2012 CIT was the program’s first postseason win in nearly four decades.

Phelps spent the two seasons prior to his arrival at Drake as associate head coach at Arizona State.

Miller and Phelps began their longstanding professional relationship in 1996, as the two served together as assistant coaches at NC State from 1996-01. Phelps spent a total of 10 years on the NC State bench as an assistant coach, helping lead the program to 191 wins and five NCAA Tournament appearances.

While with the Wolfpack, Phelps helped aide in the development of 2004 All-American, 2004 ACC Player of the Year and 2005 first-round NBA draft selection Julius Hodge.

Prior to joining the college coaching ranks, Phelps was a highly successful high school coach in his native Virginia. He led Rock Church Academy to a 104-41 record from 1990-94 and Atlantic Shores Christian School to a 44-12 mark from 1994-96.

Phelps and his wife, Alissa, have two children: a son, Owen, and a daughter, Laney.