Christopher James Capko (born October 30, 1983)[1] is an American college basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the Ball State Cardinals men’s basketball team. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators and South Florida Bulls and has previously worked as a coach for the Marshall Thundering Herd, Stetson Hatters, Georgia Southern Eagles, USC Trojans, FIU Panthers and SMU Mustangs.
Early life
Capko is from Lakeland, Florida.[2] He attended Kathleen Senior High School in Lakeland where he played basketball as a point guard and was one of the top players for the 2001 state championship team.[3] He was a team captain and three-year starter, earning first-team all-county honors as a senior while setting the school assists record.[1] Capko also played baseball in high school.[4]
College career
After high school, Capko walked-on to play college basketball for the Florida Gators in 2002.[5] He appeared in 10 games during the 2002–03 season before transferring to the South Florida, sitting out the 2003–04 season.[6] He was a walk-on at South Florida as well and a backup during the 2004–05 season, before seeing time as a starter at point guard the next year.[7] That season, Capko started 23 games and averaged 2.9 points and 4.4 assists per game, placing fifth in the Big East Conference in assists.[6] He served as team captain as a senior in 2006–07, averaging 1.8 points and 2.2 assists in 18 games played.[2][8] Capko graduated from South Florida in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication.[2] He later attended Marshall University, earning a master’s degree in adult and technical education in 2009.[2]
Coaching career
Assistant coach (2008–26)
While at Marshall, Capko served as a graduate assistant for the Marshall Thundering Herd men’s basketball team.[9] He became an assistant coach for the Stetson Hatters in 2009 and served two seasons in that role before joining the Georgia Southern Eagles as an assistant in 2011.[9] In 2013, Capko was hired by Andy Enfield as the director of basketball operations for the USC Trojans.[10] He served two years in that role before working as an assistant for the FIU Panthers from 2015 to 2016, after which he returned to USC as an assistant.[9] At USC, Capko helped the school have a top-30 ranked recruiting class in eight straight years, while more than 10 of the players he coached later went into the National Basketball Association (NBA), including Bronny James, Evan Mobley, Isaiah Collier and Onyeka Okongwu.[6] In 2024, he left USC to become the associate head coach under Enfield for the SMU Mustangs.[11]
Ball State (2026–present)
In March 2026, Capko was hired as the new head coach for the Ball State Cardinals.[12]
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State Cardinals (Mid-American Conference) (2026–present) | |||||||||
| 2026–27 | Ball State | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Ball State: | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | |||||||
| Total: | 0–0 (–) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
- ^ a b “Chris Capko”. South Florida Bulls.
- ^ a b c d “Chris Capko”. SMU Mustangs.
- ^ Brown, Rick (June 27, 2007). “Dynamic Kathleen Trio Still Tied Together by Basketball”. The Ledger.
- ^ “Prep Athletes Of The Week”. The Ledger. April 16, 2002. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Tomlinson, Dylan B. (October 13, 2002). “Lakeland duo united again”. The Gainesville Sun.
- ^ a b c Ferguson, Aaron (March 19, 2026). “Who is Chris Capko? What to know about reported next Ball State men’s basketball coach”. The Indianapolis Star.
- ^ Brown, Rick (December 15, 2005). “Opportunity Knocks”. The Ledger. p. C1, C8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ “Chris Capko College Stats”. Sports Reference.
- ^ a b c Hampton, Cade (March 19, 2026). “Ball State basketball targeting SMU assistant Chris Capko as next coach | Reports”. The Star Press – via Yahoo Sports.
- ^ Hammond, Rich (July 10, 2013). “Enfield adds to USC basketball staff”. Orange County Register.
- ^ Zemek, Matt (April 5, 2024). “Andy Enfield brings lead assistant coach Chris Capko to SMU”. USA Today.
- ^ “Ball State names SMU assistant Chris Capko head coach”. ESPN. Associated Press. March 20, 2026.