USA prep school coach Drew Dawson added to U20 men's staff; will coach at National Camp

Leading USA prep school coach Drew Dawson has been added to the Basketball Ireland U20 Men's staff as an assistant coach ahead of FIBA Youth EuroBasket 2025. Dawson - who is head prep coach at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut - will also coach at the Basketball Ireland 3x3 National Camp in July. 

The 2025 New England Founders League Coach of the Year  is no stranger to Irish basketball, successfully recruiting players from these shores for the last two decades. He has NCAA D1 coaching experience at Hartford and Lafayette, where he previously played as a point-guard, winning the 1999 Division I Patriot League Tournament championship, appearing in the 2000 NCAA D1 Tournament, and was inducted into the Lafayette Athletics Hall of Fame (2018).

Click to learn more about the Basketball Ireland National Camp. 

In his current role at Choate - Dawson’s teams are responsible for posting two of the best single season winning percentages in programme history (2018, 2025) and in general, Choate has won nearly seventy percent of its games during Drew’s tenure as head coach, including 22-2 in league play the past three seasons (2022-25). Numerous alumni have gone on to compete in college at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels, while two former Choate players, Jayden Nixon ’18 and Jack Johnson ’22, were members of two different NCAA D1 Final Four teams at the University of Virginia and Florida Atlantic University, respectively.

There has been plenty of Irish involvement too - Irish underage internationals Killian Gribben and Ruairi Cronin both attended Choate in recent years, before going on to be recruited heavily at the next level. Speaking about Gribben and Cronin's time under his tutelage, Dawson said: 

"Killian and Ruairi were outstanding players for me at Choate Rosemary Hall. Choate competes in arguably the best prep school basketball league in America, and both played a huge role in our success. They both earned All-League Honors at Choate (Ruairi helped lead us to one of our most successful years during the 2022-2023 season, including a New England Founders League championship). Killian and Ruairi went on to sign with NCAA college programs (Killian is currently competing on the Division I level at the University of Maine).

Beyond basketball, they are incredible people and represent your country at the highest level across all areas. Loved coaching Killian and Ruairi and look forward to a lifelong relationship with both. They’re great ambassadors for the future of hoops in Ireland. "

Your Ireland U20 men’s squad that will compete at FIBA Youth EuroBasket in July 🔋

▪️Two new caps!
▪️Four players return from last year’s squad!
▪️Four players make the jump from U18 level!

Read full story ➡️ https://t.co/WelwDJLzFD#Greenmeansgo ☘️ | #IrishBasketball pic.twitter.com/ro6zM227oK

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) May 29, 2025

Ahead of linking up as Ireland U20 Men's assistant coach and National Camp coach, we caught up with him to learn more about his own career, his thoughts on Irish players and what he looks for when recruiting for his programme. 

When did you first come to Ireland with a view to recruiting players?

While coaching NCAA D1 men’s basketball at Lafayette College in the mid-2000’s, I had the opportunity to coach one of Basketball Ireland’s more successful players, Paul Cummins. Following Lafayette, Paul and I stayed in touch, I followed his pro career that included the Irish National Team and a successful run with Templeogue. In 2016, Paul asked me to come to Ireland on an annual basis to help direct the Sport Dream Academy (SDA), which Cummins had established, and for nearly a decade SDA was one of Ireland’s elite camps for players looking to develop further while getting the right exposure regarding potential playing opportunities in the States and abroad.

What level did you find and are you seeing progression from the players you’re assessing in the years since?

I know I’m biased in that it has been a really rewarding experience to have the opportunity to coach in Ireland, but with each year - I see more and more progress as it relates to coaching curriculum and player develop programming. Consequently, the overall talent level seems to be getting increasingly better and the interest in Basketball Ireland in general is growing.

What is the skillset or characteristics that you see in an Irish player, that you like in terms of recruiting?

Generally, the biggest characteristic I see with Irish players is their passion for the game and getting better. Irish players – from my perspective – are highly coachable and open- minded about what needs to be done to improve and successfully compete at the higher levels of the game. I truly believe there is a growing culture of basketball in Ireland, and I feel very fortunate and appreciative to be a part of it.

Ireland U20 men's assistant coach Drew Dawson. 

How excited are you to be a part of the U20 men’s programme this year?

As coaches, we often preach the importance of approaching things with a growth-mindset. The opportunity at a new experience coaching with Basketball Ireland on the national level while doing whatever I can to bring value in developing this year’s U20 team is awesome, and the opportunity to do so is one I’m not taking lightly -- beyond excited.

What do you hope to bring to the programme as assistant coach?

Having been both a college assistant coach and head prep coach, my goal is: really to just add as much value and perspective as possible in any area that’s asked of me. Again, I’m very excited at this opportunity and I look forward to the work ahead in the coming months.

What is a realistic ambition for the programme at FIBA Youth EuroBasket?

This will be my first direct involvement coaching an Irish National Team, so it’s di\icult for me to make any realistic predictions. But I will tell you – Coach Walsh has set high expectations for this team and the staff, and we’re excited about the talent assembled, the personalities and potential to compete at a high level and represent.

You’ll also be coaching at National Camp, what are you looking forward to about that experience?

Throughout my time coaching in Ireland, I’ve met so many highly motivated players and coaches passionate about basketball, getting better and growing the game. I think this year’s National Camp will be no different and look forward to working with everyone involved.

Is it a good platform for participants to show you what they can do?

It’s impressive the work Senior Technical Officer, Matt Hall, and others have done to advance camps & clinics, numerous events and other Basketball Ireland offerings. The 3x3 National Camp and National Camp are very similar in style to the host of top national camps we run in the States. It’s a great platform. I’m looking forward to watching- and working with this year’s group.