TicketsJake Thelen joined the University of Cincinnati Men’s Basketball staff in May 2021 as the Director of Basketball Operations, before moving into his current Director of Player Development/Assistant Coach role in July 2023.
A former All-American forward at Bellarmine University, he comes to Cincinnati after spending the last three seasons at the University of Georgia. Thelen was 25 when he arrived in Athens and was the nation’s youngest “DOBO” at a Power 5 school.
As Director of Basketball Operations, Thelen worked in conjunction with the coaching and support staff to ensure that all team-related needs were met. He assisted the coaching staff in developing game strategies, breaking down game film, planning practices and contributing in staff meetings. Thelen coordinated the Bulldogs’ daily and weekly basketball calendar and practice schedule, as well as organized and planned on-campus recruiting visits. Thelen served as liaison with compliance, academics, facilities, ticket office, business office and equipment personnel and helped oversee the graduate and undergrad managers. He helped coordinate all meals and food for the program, while handling team travel.
While at Indiana, he worked daily with current NBA players OG Anunoby (NBA Champion Toronto Raptors), Thomas Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards) and Juwan Morgan (Utah Jazz).
At Georgia, Thelen’s on-campus coordination helped the Bulldogs land a consensus top-10 class in head coach Tom Crean’s first full recruiting cycle. That group was headlined by Anthony Edwards, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and one of six top-100 prospects Georgia has signed during Thelen’s tenure in Athens.
Thelen enjoyed a standout career at Bellarmine, graduating from the then-Division II school in 2015. He played professionally for Horsens IC for one season before starting his coaching career. He coached at St. Xavier (Ky.) High School in 2015-16, was a graduate assistant under Crean at Indiana in 2016-17 and was an assistant coach at Bellarmine in 2017-18.
Thelen helped guide Bellarmine to a 29-3 finish in 2017-18. The Knights captured the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) regular-season and tournament titles and reached the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive campaign.
Thelen was a consensus All-American and was named the GLVC Player of the Year in 2015. Thelen was tabbed first-team All-America by Basketball Times, DII Bulletin, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and BennettRank.com.
The Knights compiled a 31-4 mark during Thelen’s senior season and advanced to the Division II Final Four. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Midwest Regional after racking up 24 points and 15 rebounds against Indianapolis in the Regional final.
Thelen finished ranked No. 16 among Bellarmine’s career scoring leaders with 1,412 points in three seasons. As a senior, he posted the second-highest point (651) and rebound (375) tallies in school history to average a double-double of 18.6 ppg and 10.7 rpg. In 2013-14, Thelen connected on a school-record 74.0 percent of his shots from the field.
Thelen started every game of his three seasons at Bellarmine as the Knights compiled a 78-20 record, reached the ”Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and advanced to the Final Four in 2015.
Thelen played one season at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., before transferring to Bellarmine. There he averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds was the Southern States Conference Freshman of the Year.
A native of Edgewood, Ky., Thelen starred at Covington Catholic High School, where he was selected to play in both the Kentucky/Indiana and the Kentucky/Ohio All-Star games.
Thelen received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bellarmine in 2015. He is the son of Ashley and Jon Thelen and the oldest of siblings Hannah (25), Heidi (23), Grace (21) and Nick (20).
A former All-American forward at Bellarmine University, he comes to Cincinnati after spending the last three seasons at the University of Georgia. Thelen was 25 when he arrived in Athens and was the nation’s youngest “DOBO” at a Power 5 school.
As Director of Basketball Operations, Thelen worked in conjunction with the coaching and support staff to ensure that all team-related needs were met. He assisted the coaching staff in developing game strategies, breaking down game film, planning practices and contributing in staff meetings. Thelen coordinated the Bulldogs’ daily and weekly basketball calendar and practice schedule, as well as organized and planned on-campus recruiting visits. Thelen served as liaison with compliance, academics, facilities, ticket office, business office and equipment personnel and helped oversee the graduate and undergrad managers. He helped coordinate all meals and food for the program, while handling team travel.
While at Indiana, he worked daily with current NBA players OG Anunoby (NBA Champion Toronto Raptors), Thomas Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards) and Juwan Morgan (Utah Jazz).
At Georgia, Thelen’s on-campus coordination helped the Bulldogs land a consensus top-10 class in head coach Tom Crean’s first full recruiting cycle. That group was headlined by Anthony Edwards, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and one of six top-100 prospects Georgia has signed during Thelen’s tenure in Athens.
Thelen enjoyed a standout career at Bellarmine, graduating from the then-Division II school in 2015. He played professionally for Horsens IC for one season before starting his coaching career. He coached at St. Xavier (Ky.) High School in 2015-16, was a graduate assistant under Crean at Indiana in 2016-17 and was an assistant coach at Bellarmine in 2017-18.
Thelen helped guide Bellarmine to a 29-3 finish in 2017-18. The Knights captured the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) regular-season and tournament titles and reached the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive campaign.
Thelen was a consensus All-American and was named the GLVC Player of the Year in 2015. Thelen was tabbed first-team All-America by Basketball Times, DII Bulletin, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and BennettRank.com.
The Knights compiled a 31-4 mark during Thelen’s senior season and advanced to the Division II Final Four. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Midwest Regional after racking up 24 points and 15 rebounds against Indianapolis in the Regional final.
Thelen finished ranked No. 16 among Bellarmine’s career scoring leaders with 1,412 points in three seasons. As a senior, he posted the second-highest point (651) and rebound (375) tallies in school history to average a double-double of 18.6 ppg and 10.7 rpg. In 2013-14, Thelen connected on a school-record 74.0 percent of his shots from the field.
Thelen started every game of his three seasons at Bellarmine as the Knights compiled a 78-20 record, reached the ”Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and advanced to the Final Four in 2015.
Thelen played one season at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., before transferring to Bellarmine. There he averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds was the Southern States Conference Freshman of the Year.
A native of Edgewood, Ky., Thelen starred at Covington Catholic High School, where he was selected to play in both the Kentucky/Indiana and the Kentucky/Ohio All-Star games.
Thelen received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bellarmine in 2015. He is the son of Ashley and Jon Thelen and the oldest of siblings Hannah (25), Heidi (23), Grace (21) and Nick (20).