Chris Capko enters his first season as an assistant coach for the FIU men’s basketball program in 2015-16. Capko comes to FIU after spending two seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations for the USC men's basketball program.
"In building a relationship with Chris, I know he will be a tremendous asset to this program with his energy, his knowledge of the game and his ability to recruit," said FIU Head Coach Anthony Evans. "I know he will be a very good addition to this program."
During his two seasons at USC, Capko helped a rebuilding program make great stride on the floor and in the classroom. He played an integral role in helping guard Jordan McLaughlin earn a spot on the All-Pac 12 Rookie Team. In addition, he helped oversee the team’s academic success in 2014-15 as they set a program record for highest team GPA. Capko also assisted the rest of the USC staff in establishing strong recruiting classes during his two seasons with the Trojans. USC’s 2015 class was ranked 20th nationally by Rivals, 22nd by Scout and 30th by ESPN. In 2014, the Trojan class was ranked 12th by Scout, 16th by ESPN and 23rd by Rivals.
Before his time at USC, Capko spent the previous two seasons as an assistant men's basketball coach at Georgia Southern. During his time with the Eagles, the program had three All-Conference selections and reached the conference quarterfinals during the 2012-13 campaign.
Prior to Georgia Southern, he served as the shooting coach at Stetson for two seasons (2010 and 2011). With the Hatters, his other duties included recruiting, advance scouting, running team drills and player conditioning workouts. During the 2010-11 season, Stetson recorded victories over Wake Forest and Atlantic Sun Conference Champion East Tennessee State.
Before his stint at Stetson, Capko served as a graduate assistant at Marshall where he assisted in the day-to-day operations of the program, monitoring academic progress of the players, weight training, conditioning, film exchange and assisting with the recruiting process.
As a player, Capko spent his first semester in the basketball program at the University of Florida under Billy Donovan. He later transferred to USF in Tampa where he played for three years. As a junior he was fifth in the Big East in assists and as a senior he was the Bulls' team captain.
Capko earned Academic All-Big East honors as a junior and senior at USF. He was also the Bulls' nominee for Big East Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year in 2007. Capko earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications at USF in December 2006 and a Master's in adult and technical education from Marshall in 2009.
A native of Lakeland, Fla., Capko was a starter for Kathleen High School when the Red Devils won the 2001 FHSAA 4-A State Championship.
