Eleven years after being initially recruited by Eran Ganot, Cullen Neal is joining the University basketball team in the dual role of assistant coach and director of operations.

“I’m super excited,” Neal said of accepting the offer from Ganot, who is beginning his 10th season as UH’s head coach.. “I’m really blessed and grateful for Coach (Ganot) giving me this chance to work with a prestigious university. I’m really excited to be working with the guys.”

Neal, 30, succeeds Cody Kelley, who resigned in June to accept a coaching job in Ibaraki, Japan.

Neal was New Mexico’s Mr. Basketball when Ganot, then an assistant coach at Saint Mary’s, began the recruiting process. Neal went on to play three years at New Mexico, where his father, Craig, was the head coach, then another season at Ole Miss, and finally a fifth season at Saint Mary’s. By the time Neal joined the Gaels, Ganot was with the Rainbow Warriors.

Neal would play two pro seasons overseas, then join Steve Alford’s Nevada staff as a graduate assistant. Craig Neal is Nevada’s associate head coach,

Cullen Neal was with Rice the past two years, serving as director of player development during the 2023-24 season.

At UH, Neal will help with on-the-court coaching, offensive and defensive scouting, scheduling and “all the operational stuff.” He also will recruit.

Neal said he has a life-long association with the sport. “I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have a basketball,” he said. “I always had a basketball in my hands, starting when I was a baby. All my baby photos are always pictures of playing with a little hoop when I was 2, 3, 4, 5, as long as I can remember.”

He said he enjoyed playing for his father at New Mexico, and then being on the same staff at Nevada. “It was interesting to see the other side because as a player, I got to see how hard they worked,” he said of his father and Alford. “As a GA and coach, I was able to see how detailed they were and how much effort they put into things. That’s the biggest thing I took from them.”

Neal and his wife, Lauren, a former UC Riverside guard, are parents to son Holt, 2, and daughter Cash, 1.