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Kellen Sampson

Lumbee

Induction Category:

Year Inducted

Coach/Athlete

2025

Kellen Sampson joined the University of Houston Men’s Basketball program in April 2014 as an assistant coach.
 
In June 2023, he signed a new contract, which formalized the coaching succession plan upon Head Coach Kelvin Sampson’s departure from the program and designated him as head coach- in-waiting on the Houston staff.
 
He is the third generation from his family to work as a coach. In addition to his father, Kelvin Sampson, his grandfather, John W. “Ned” Sampson, was a highly respected high school coach in Pembroke, N.C., and is a member of the North Carolina Coaching Hall of Fame.
 
During his time at Houston, Sampson has helped lead the Cougars to six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances – including the 2021 NCAA Final Four – six American Athletic Conference titles and one Big 12 Conference regular-season crown.
 
Houston has posted a 264-79 overall record with a 132-47 mark in conference games and sustained national prominence by being ranked in the Top 25 in the final Associated Press and USA TODAY Sports Coaches polls for seven consecutive years with Top 10 showings in each of the last four seasons.
 
Sampson is no stranger to the college basketball coaching fraternity. He joined the Cougars after a three-year stint at Appalachian State from 2011 to 2014 and entered the full-time coaching ranks as an assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin in 2010-11.
 
He served as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma during the 2008-09 season and worked as strength and conditioning coach during the 2009-10 campaign. In addition, he also served as the program’s film exchange coordinator and assisted in scheduling official visits for recruits.
 
Following his 2006 graduation from Oklahoma, Sampson served at Indiana as a graduate assistant during the 2007-08 season.
 
Sampson competed at Oklahoma from 2004 to 2007. He earned three letters during that time and received the program’s Most Inspirational Award and Connection to the Community Award as a senior in 2006.
 
On the court, he led the Sooners, connecting on 44 percent of his shots from behind the arc as a senior. Off the court, he earned Academic All-Big 12 First-Team honors in 2007.
 
Sampson earned two degrees from Oklahoma, graduating with honors in communications in 2006 and earning his master’s degree in intercollegiate athletics administration in 2009.
 
Sampson and his wife, Tonya, have a daughter, Maisy, and a son, Kylen.

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