UW-Eau Claire men’s basketball coach Zach Malvik announced Wednesday the hiring of Brady Vest as an assistant coach.
Vest, who played collegiately at Grinnell College, joins the Blugolds after two years at Messiah University, where he was a graduate assistant coach with the men’s basketball team. At Messiah, Vest helped develop two All-Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth players. He led the Falcons’ recruiting efforts in addition to compiling scouting reports and helping organize team operations.
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“I’m super excited to have Brady Vest joining our staff,” Malvik said. “Between his playing career at Grinnell College and his last two years on staff at Messiah University, he has a ton of knowledge of Division III basketball and knows what it takes to help build successful programs. He’s very personable and will be able to do a great job not only recruiting, but in building relationships with our current players as well. I’m looking forward to seeing how Brady can continue to help elevate our program.”
The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina native also has several years of experience coaching on the AAU circuit. Most recently, he worked with West Virginia Gold from 2024-25, leading the program’s 2027 Pro16 Circuit team. He also coached with Iowa Barnstormers in 2023. Prior to his AAU experience, he was an assistant coach with the Myrtle Beach High School boys basketball program.
Vest got into coaching after a playing career at Grinnell College. He was a two-time team captain for Grinnell in a playing career that spanned from 2018 to 2023. He was a two-time academic all-conference honoree. Vest joins a Blugolds program that is fresh off a third-place finish in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference — its best conference finish since 2016. UW-Eau Claire reached the semifinals of the WIAC Tournament and finished 17-10 in Malvik’s first season as head coach.
