Darius Stokes completed his second season as an assistant coach for the Elon men's basketball program in 2025-26. He joined head coach Billy Taylor's staff in June 2024 and made an instant impact on the Phoenix, helping it secure its first winning season since 2016-17 with 17 victories in 2024-25.
Stokes arrived at Elon following one season as an assistant coach at the United States Military Academy, West Point, in 2023-24. Before stepping into his coaching role with the Black Knights, Stokes spent two seasons on staff at Richmond, most recently serving as the Director of Program Development. He also held the title of video coordinator for the Spiders, managing all aspects of the program's video operations while contributing to opponent scouting and player recruitment. The Spiders won the 2022 Atlantic 10 Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years.
Stokes was formerly on staff at Fairleigh Dickinson for four seasons (2017-21) under former Elon assistant coach and Army head coach Greg Herenda. He spent his final season at FDU as an assistant coach following three seasons as the program's director of basketball operations. In Stokes second season on staff at FDU, the Knights went 21-14, won the Northeast Conference Championship and advanced to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Stokes got his start as an administrative assistant for the men's basketball program at his alma mater, Iowa, holding that role during the 2016-17 campaign.
Stokes played in 38 games for the Hawkeyes over four seasons (2010-14) and graduated with a bachelor's degree in health and human physiology in 2014. He transferred to Fairleigh Dickinson as a graduate and started 28 games for the Knights in 2014-15 while earning a master's degree in sport administration.
He played one season of professional basketball for UER Pineda de Mar in Spain.
Stokes' father, Greg, was an All-Big Ten center at Iowa whose No. 41 jersey has been retired by the Hawkeyes. His father played in 42 games over two NBA seasons after he was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 33rd pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. Stokes' sister, Kiah Stokes, was a three-time NCAA champion at Connecticut and became the No. 11 overall pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft. She has won three WNBA titles with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
Last updated: April 1, 2026
