“Michael is one of the brightest young minds in the game in my opinion. He brings unique elements to our staff both from a recruiting and basketball standpoint. Australia is known globally as one of the foremost basketball development countries on the international scene. 'Cass' has be en a central figure in that system for nearly five years. His selection as a coach on several world championship national teams is indicative of the respect he has garnered. He i s bright, witty, creative and forward-thinking.” – College of Charleston Head Coach Pat Kelsey
Cassidy enters his third year as an assistant at The College, arriving in Charleston in August of 2021 fresh off a summer as an assistant coaching the U19 Australian National Team at the U19 FIBA World Cup in July of 2021.
Cassidy has been instrumental in designing an offense that has already flourished at CofC as the Cougars won 17 games with a young core in 2021-22 and follwed it up with a CAA Championship in 2023.
A Canberra, Australia, native, Cassidy brings a wealth of international coaching experience to the staff. Prior to The College, Cassidy spent five years playing an integral role on staff with the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence, a world-class institution dedicated to junior basketball development in Australia and the future Boomers and Opals, who compete for the Australian Men's and Women's National Teams.
With the Centre of Excellence, Cassidy was as an assistant coach competing in the NBL1 (Division II Pro League) in Australia. Additionally, he worked in-step with the NBA Global Academy, which is housed in Canberra, Australia. The Centre of Excellence has produced several NBA stars, including Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Joe Ingles, Luc Longley, Patty Mills and more.
Cassidy was responsible for nationally identifying future talent for the Australian National teams and individually tailoring athlete development programs while teaching with a focus on shooting and international offensive and defensive trends. He's helped lead multiple U19 National Teams and helped steer the U18 National Team to a silver medal at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament, an international competition held in Germany every two years.
A 2018 graduate of the Australian College of Physical Education, Cassidy also has experience as a head coach during the National Basketball League Combine and the Australian Basketball Development Camp. During the latter, he led and managed a staff of 10 coaches and a team of 20 athletes, bringing an impressive resume of recruiting, talent identification and development, and on-court coaching expertise to College of Charleston.
