Marian University

Drake Diener joined the Sabre men's basketball coaching staff in May of 2018 after playing the past 12 years of professional basketball overseas in Italy.  During his professional playing career, Diener played for nine different teams earning Italian League Championships in 2008 and 2014.  The 2013-14 season also saw him earn Italian League Most Valuable Player honors.  Diener also led his team to a Euroleague Final Four appearance in 2008 and is the all-time leading scorer in Italian Serie A.  This past season he was named a team captain for Vanoli Cremona.

Diener obtained his bachelor's degree in education from DePaul University where he was also a prominent member of the Blue Demons' men's basketball program.  As a Blue Demon, he became the all-time leading three-point scorer and recorded the highest career free throw percentage.  In his junior season, Diener averaged 12.6 points per game, third on the squad, leading DePaul to a conference championship and berth in the NCAA Tournament.  The Blue Demons earned the No. 7 seed in the West region in the tournament and defeated No. 10 Dayton in the opening round 76-69 behind a game-high 28 points from Diener.  DePaul would be knocked out by the eventual NCAA Tournament champion, the University of Connecticut, in the second round.  Diener then went on to earn third team all-conference honors as a senior after playing in all 31 games and ranking second on the team with 14.2 points per game with 2.8 assists per game, all while serving as a team captain.

Off of the court, Diener was named an Academic All-American three times, the Conference USA Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year twice, and the National Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2015.  Following his playing career with DePaul, he spent one season as a graduate assistant for the program where he analyzed video of potential recruits and assisted in the organization of daily activities for the men's basketball program.

Diener has also spent time as a scout and recruiter for College Life Italia where he evaluated and guided potential Italian student-athletes to American universities.  This has allowed Diener to not only make several contacts throughout the United States and Italy but foster relationships to schools and young Italian student-athletes.

He joins his father and brother in the coaching ranks who have both shown the ability to build championship-caliber programs.  His father, Dick, was a long-time head coach for Fond du Lac High School, while his brother, Drew, won a national championship with Cardinal Stritch University and is the current head coach at Rockhurst University.