Thurman Schaetzle is entering his sixth season as an assistant coach on the Canisius men's basketball coaching staff. Schaetzle, who previously served as a graduate assistant manager on head coach Reggie Witherspoon's first staff in 2016-17, returned to Buffalo prior to the 2018-19 campaign after spending a year as an assistant varsity boy's basketball coach at Highlands High School in Natrona Heights, Pa.
In his time as a member of the Blue and Gold's coaching staff, Schaetzle has a part of the Golden Griffin coaching staff that guided the team to 58 MAAC regular-season victories. The 2018-19 edition of the Griffs had two players earn All-MAAC honors and ended the year by advancing to the MAAC Championship semifinal round, just the third semifinal appearance for the Blue and Gold since 2002.
In his six seasons as an assistant coach, Schaetzle played a role in recruiting and helped develop 11 different Canisius players that earned All-MAAC honors, including 2023-24 All-MAAC Second Team honoree Frank Mitchell and Tre Dinkins, and All-MAAC Third Team selection. As a graduate assistant manager with the Golden Griffins in 2016-17, Schaetzle assisted the coaching staff with game film breakdown and opponent scouting reports, while also working with the team's front court players.
Prior to coming to Canisius, the Erie, Pa., native spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Division II Gannon University. In his time with the Golden Knights, Schaetzle helped lead the squad to a pair of PSAC West league championships, the 2015 PSAC Conference Tournament crown and back-to-back NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament berths in 2014 and 2015. He recruited and developed three PSAC West Defensive Players of the Year (CJ Oldham in 2014, A'Darius Porter in 2015 and Damon Miraud in 2018). He also recruited Jimmy Berger to Gannon, and he went on to be named the 2017 PSAC Freshman of the Year.
In his time as a coach, Schaetzle has worked with 16 players who have gone on to play professional basketball and he has also worked numerous camps with the Hoop Group, based out of Neptune, N.J.
Coaching runs in the Schaetzle family, as his father Marty spent more than 20 years as the head football coach at Mercyhurst University. Thurman's wife, Hayley, served as head women's basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg for three seasons, and was honored as the 2019-20 AMCC Coach of the Year.
Schaetzle earned his undergraduate degree in history from Mercyhurst in 2011 before he earned his master's degree in sport administration from Canisius in 2017.
He and his wife, Hayley, have two sons - Collum and Louie.
