Former Purdue Basketball Player, Grad Assistant Tommy Luce Lands Job at Kent State

Former Purdue basketball player and graduate assistant Tommy Luce has landed a new gig. The former Boilermaker has joined Rob Senderoff’s staff at Kent State.

Luce played at Purdue from 2016-20 as a walk-on. He appeared in 46 career games and was a member of two teams that won Big Ten regular season championships. Luce has spent the last three seasons working as a graduate assistant on Matt Painter’s staff.

“Tommy came to Kent highly recommended,” Senderoff said, per Kent State’s website. “Tommy spent seven years at Purdue as a player and graduate assistant. Purdue had one of the best men’s basketball programs during that time. Tommy has worked closely with their post players and all facets of their program. I am excited to bring him along.”

Luce was a staffer for a Purdue team that won back-to-back regular season titles (2023, 2024), a Big Ten Tournament championship (2023) and reached the National Championship Game (2024) for the first time since 1969.

“I am excited for Tommy to be named the Assistant Coach/Player Development Coach at Kent State University,” Painter said in a statement. “Tommy is very detail-oriented and goal-driven and has been a big part of our program for the last three years. All of our players and staff enjoyed working with him and he was very well-respected among the Purdue community. We are happy for him to continue his coaching career at an outstanding program like Kent State.”

Senderoff has been the coach at Kent State since 2011. He’s compiled a 264-164 record, winning one MAC regular season title (2015) and two conference tournament championships (2017, 2023).

The Golden Flashes concluded last season with a 28-7 record and a 15-3 mark in MAC play.

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