Former Ankeny basketball standout Conor Riordan, who spent the past year as a graduate assistant at Midland University (Neb.), has joined new coach Joe Steinkamp’s Central College men’s basketball staff as varsity assistant.
Riordan, a former three-year team captain and two-time all-conference pick at Ankeny, was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree at Simpson College, graduating in 2020. He was a three-time first-team American Rivers all-conference guard for Simpson and a finalist for the Jostens Trophy as the outstanding NCAA Division III player.
Riordan averaged 20.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 2019-20, finishing with 1,533 career points. He was also chosen to play with a Division III team on a 2021 summer tour of Brazil hosted by USA Sports and Events.
Before starting a master’s degree program at Midland, Riordan spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach at Ankeny, serving as the sophomore team coach.
“Conor is a perfect fit for Central and our team’s culture,” Steinkamp said in a press release. “I’ve known him a long time now. I tried to recruit him and I coached against him. He’s just a winner. He’s a hard-working guy with great character and I’m really excited to get to work with him.”
Steinkamp was named head coach after five seasons as Central’s women’s basketball head coach and 10 years as a Central men’s basketball assistant. He’s a 2003 Central graduate and former Dutch team co-captain.
The Dutch have captured 17 conference championships and made 11 NCAA Division III Championships appearances.