TicketsCINCINNATI — Two members of Cincinnati first-year head coach Jerrod Calhoun’s staff have recently received recognition in the men’s basketball world as Ben Asher has been selected as a Top High Major Basketball Assistant by Silver Waves Media and Curran Walsh was named to the Hoop Herald 35.
Both came to Clifton with Calhoun from Utah State this past spring after helping Utah State go 29-7, while winning the Mountain West regular-season and tournament championships before advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies, who were highlighted by Mountain West Player of the Year Mason Falslev, saw Karson Templin named conference Sixth Man of the Year, MJ Collins Jr. garner All-Mountain West Second Team recognition and Drake Allen earned All-Mountain West Honorable Mention laurels.
Asher, who brings a total of 16 years of experience to the Cincinnati staff after two seasons with the Aggies, previously spent three seasons as an assistant at Youngstown State (2021-14), five seasons at Rutgers (2016-21) and a year as director of operations at Siena.
Asher also spent two seasons (2013-15) as a graduate assistant at North Carolina State under head coach Mark Gottfried. Prior to arriving in Raleigh, Asher worked as the head student manager at West Virginia, where he earned a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree in 2013. Under head coach Bob Huggins, the Mountaineers won the Big East Tournament Championship and advanced to the Final Four in 2010.
Before his second stint at Utah State a season ago, Walsh served as an assistant coach at Denver in 2024-25, director of operations at Utah for three seasons and director of player development for his first stint at Utah State from 2019-21. He also spent time on staff at Loyola Marymount from 2017-19 and was an assistant at St. Anthony High School in 2016-17, helping the team to a 30-5 record and an IHSA State Championship.
A native of Effingham, Ill., Walsh played basketball at Lindenwood University-Belleville all four years before graduating with a degree in business administration in 2016. During his time with the Lynx, he earned academic all-conference honors in his final two seasons. He went on to complete his master’s degree in educational studies at LMU.