NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference’s 2025-26 men’s basketball season will feature a trio of new faces leading their programs after Arkansas State, Louisiana and ULM announced the hiring of new head coaches.
Arkansas State and Louisiana tabbed first-time head coaches who previously served as assistant coaches for programs with recent NCAA Final Four experience on their résumés. The Red Wolves welcomed Ryan Pannone from the University of Alabama, and the Ragin’ Cajuns hired Quannas White from the University of Houston.
ULM elevated Phil Cunningham to the helm of its program after serving as an assistant coach with the Warhawks last season. He also possesses six years of head-coaching experience in the Sun Belt after leading Troy from 2013 to 2019.
Ryan Pannone, Arkansas State
Pannone takes over for the Red Wolves after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Alabama. The Crimson Tide boasted the nation's highest scoring average both years, as Pannone helped lead the program to a Final Four in 2024 and an Elite Eight appearance in 2025.
During a coaching career spanning over 20 years, Pannone owns a wealth of experience at numerous levels including NCAA Division I, the NBA, the NBA’s G-League, various professional leagues overseas, junior college, high school and AAU. He won 204 games in nine years as a head coach, including stops with the G-League's Erie BayHawks and Birmingham Squadron as well as the Slovak Basketball League's BC Prievidza.
In 2022-23, Pannone served as an assistant coach for the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans, helping lead the squad to 42 victories and a Play-In Tournament berth. As a G-League head coach in Erie and Birmingham from 2019-22, his squads made back-to-back playoff appearances during his final two seasons and had 11 combined NBA call-ups.
Pannone’s experience coaching overseas includes stints in China, Germany, Israel and Slovakia.
Quannas White, Louisiana
White arrives in Lafayette after spending the last eight seasons as an assistant coach at Houston, including the last two years as associate head coach. During his tenure, the Cougars posted a 243-44 overall record, including a 123-22 mark in conference play.
During Houston’s seven-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, White helped the Cougars reach three Sweet Sixteens, one Elite Eight and two Final Fours in 2021 and 2025, respectively.
Prior to his time in Houston, White served as an assistant coach for one season at Western Kentucky following two seasons in the same role at Tulane. He also spent nine years leading the Louisiana Dynasty AAU program and won more than 30 tournament titles while developing and mentoring numerous future NCAA Division I players.
White’s coaching career began as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma, following two seasons as a key member of the Sooners’ teams who made runs to the Final Four in 2002 and the Elite Eight in 2003. White played professionally in the NBA D-League as well as overseas in France and Germany.
Phil Cunningham, ULM
Cunningham succeeds Keith Richard who announced his retirement following 15 seasons, four postseason appearances and 170 wins as the head coach of the Warhawks. No stranger to March Madness and postseason success in the Sun Belt, Cunningham possesses over 30 years of coaching experience at the NCAA Division I level and two Sun Belt tournament titles.
Prior to serving as an assistant coach for ULM during the 2024-25 campaign, he spent four years as the associate head coach at Western Kentucky which included a Conference USA regular season title in 2021. He was also an assistant coach with the Hilltoppers in 2012-13 when they won the 2013 Sun Belt Tournament title.
Cunningham’s head-coaching stint at Troy was highlighted by the Trojans capturing their first Sun Belt Tournament championship in program history in 2017 to reach March Madness for just the second time before finishing with the most wins (22) since the 2003-04 season.
Cunningham spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach at Mississippi State from 2000-12 and was part of six NCAA Tournament appearances, as the Bulldogs won five Southeastern Conference (SEC) Western Division crowns, one regular season conference championship and a pair of SEC Tournament titles. Mississippi State averaged over 20 wins per season during Cunningham's tenure.
Prior to his time at Mississippi State, Cunningham spent five seasons as an assistant coach under Naismith Hall of Fame head coach Charles "Lefty" Driesell at James Madison (1995-97) and Georgia State (1997-2000).