BOSTON – Northeastern men's basketball assistant coaches Brian McDonald and Matt Janning have been named among the most impactful and influential mid major assistant coaches by Silver Waves Media. The list, now in its eighth year, is assembled after consulting with a panel of industry professionals and has become the industry standard for excellence.
 
McDonald enters his 17th season on the Northeastern coaching staff after four years as one of the Huskies' leaders on the court. He was named to Under Armour's 30-under-30 Team, presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, in 2016. 
 
Since McDonald joined the coaching staff in 2010-11, the Huskies have made two NCAA tournaments (2015 and 2019) and became the fifth program in CAA history to make three consecutive CAA title games (2018, 2019, 2020), winning three regular-season titles (2013, 2015, 2018) along the way. Under his tutelage, TJ Williams was named the 2017 CAA Player of the Year and garnered All-America honorable mention honors, while Jordan Roland won the CAA scoring title in 2019-20, finishing 10th in the country (21.9 ppg).
 
A native of Southbury, Conn., McDonald walked onto the team in 2006 and quickly gained the admiration of his coaches and fellow players for his hard work, determination and commitment to personal development. He appeared in 38 career games for the Huskies and helped lead the team to back-to-back postseason appearances in 2009 and '10. He was a CAA All-Academic honorable mention in 2010 and was named one of Northeastern's 100 Most Influential Seniors. McDonald earned his bachelor's degree in new venture management and finance from Northeastern in 2010, and earned his MBA from Northeastern in 2012.
 
Janning, meanwhile, enters his third season on the Northeastern coaching staff after a 13-year professional basketball career that saw stops in the NBA, NBA G League and overseas. During his time on the Northeastern sideline, Rashad King became the first player since Tyson Walker to earn All-CAA First Team status.
 
A prolific scorer and playmaker, Janning enjoyed an outstanding four years on Huntington Avenue, finishing his collegiate career ranked fourth all-time with 1,836 points behind only Reggie Lewis, JJ Barea and Pete Harris. He led the Huskies in scoring during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, and is still fifth on Northeastern's career record list for made three-point field goals (223), sixth in made field goals (639) and eighth in assists (352).
 
The Watertown, Minn. native averaged 14.3 points per game during his 128-game career and was a three-time All-CAA performer, including first team honors in 2009 and 2010. No slouch in the classroom, Janning was also a three-time CAA All-Academic second team selection and was the recipient of the 2010 Herbert Gallagher Award as Northeastern's top senior scholar-athlete. He was inducted into the Northeastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.