OREM—Utah Valley University men's basketball head coach Todd Phillips has announced the promotion of Seena Namdar to Director of Recruiting for the 2026-27 season.

Namdar moves into the Director of Recruiting role after spending the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant on Phillips' staff. During his time in Orem, Namdar has played an integral role in the Wolverines' recruiting efforts, roster management, player development, scouting, and day-to-day basketball operations.

"Seena has been an incredible addition to our staff," Phillips said. "He's a young, hungry coach who brings tremendous energy, works extremely hard, and is willing to do whatever it takes to help our program succeed. He has played a vital role in our back-to-back WAC championships the past two years as a graduate assistant, and he has earned this opportunity through his work and commitment to our program.

"As Seena steps into his new role as a coach on our staff, we're excited to watch him continue to grow and develop. I have a tremendous amount of confidence in his future, and I truly believe the sky is the limit for Seena. We're excited to have him with us and can't wait to see what's next for him."

During Namdar's two seasons on staff, Utah Valley has compiled a 50-18 overall record and a 29-5 mark in Western Athletic Conference play while winning back-to-back outright WAC regular-season championships. The Wolverines also advanced to consecutive WAC Tournament championship games, made back-to-back appearances in the National Invitation Tournament, and posted a 27-1 record at the UCCU Center.

Namdar helped Utah Valley put together another historic campaign in 2025-26 as the Wolverines finished 25-9 overall and 14-4 in WAC play to capture their second consecutive outright WAC regular-season championship. UVU became the first team in program history to win back-to-back outright conference titles and the first to record consecutive 25-win seasons.

The Wolverines earned the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament and advanced to the championship game for the second straight year before earning their second consecutive NIT appearance.

UVU finished the 2025-26 regular season a perfect 15-0 at home and carried a 27-game home winning streak into the NIT, which ranked as the fourth-longest active streak in the nation at the time.

The Wolverines were also among the nation's top teams statistically, ranking sixth nationally in steals per game (9.4), seventh in assists per game (18.5) and turnovers forced per game (15.24), ninth in blocks per game (5.4), and 11th in field goal percentage (.501). Utah Valley set single-season program records for assists (630), assists per game (18.5), scoring average (80.1), and field goal percentage (.501).

Namdar joined Utah Valley ahead of the 2024-25 season after spending two seasons at Salt Lake Community College. He served as a volunteer assistant during his first season at SLCC before moving into a special assistant to the head coach role. The Bruins posted a combined 59-9 record during his two seasons, won back-to-back Scenic West Athletic Conference championships, and made two appearances in the NJCAA National Tournament.

A native of Sandy, Utah, Namdar played two seasons at Colorado Northwestern Community College, where he earned NJCAA All-Academic First Team honors and received the Region 18 Sportsmanship Award. He also worked as a trainer for Lace 'Em Up Basketball and graduated from Alta High School.

Utah Valley begins its first season as a member of the Big West Conference in 2026-27.