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University of Northern Iowa Athletics
10/19/2026 12:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. --- UNI men's basketball assistant coach/general manager Abe Woldeslassie has been named one of Silver Waves Media's Most Impactful/Influential Mid-Major Assistant Coaches, as announced on Monday.
Woldeslassie, who is in his first season with the Panthers, was one of 140 Division I mid-major coaches named to the eighth annual list produced by the California based outlet. The complete list of recognized coaches can be found HERE.
A Minneapolis, Minnesota native, Woldeslassie brings 16 years of experience across the Division I and Division III college basketball coaching landscape. He spent the 2025-26 season at the University of Denver following seven seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Macalester College in Minnesota.
Woldeslassie also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Siena from 2016 to 2018, and also served two stints as Director of Basketball Operations at Davidson (2013-16), as well at Dartmouth (2012-13). His first college coaching opportunity came in 2010 as an assistant coach at Division III Bowdoin College in Maine, along with experience coaching at Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas, as well as the Basketball Training Institute in Pasadena, California.
Woldeslassie and the Panthers will host Division II Upper Iowa in a preseason exhibition free and open to the public on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center. Northern Iowa will open the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 3 when it hosts Cornell (IA) at 7 p.m. CT.
UNI men's basketball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Men's Basketball), X (@UNImbb) and on Instagram (@uni_basketball). Schedule and roster information, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
