Seth Needle - Graduate Assistant - Men's Basketball Support Staff

Seth Needle

Title:
Graduate Assistant
Email:
seth.needle@temple.edu

Seth Needle begins his second season as special assistant to the head coach and fourth on the coaching staff for Temple men’s basketball in 2026-27.

Needle was promoted to his current role in July 2025, after spending the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant with the Owls.

Temple went 16-16 overall and 8-10 in the American Conference in 2025-26, finishing 10-6 at the Liacouras Center and putting together its longest winning streak since 2014-15 at seven games. The Owls also knocked off eventual conference champion South Florida, 79-78, in a White Out thriller, while 11 of their 16 losses came by two possessions or fewer.

Temple’s identity was built on defense and ball security. The Owls ranked 11th nationally in turnovers per game (9.0), committing 10 or fewer turnovers in 20 of 32 games, and made one of the nation’s biggest defensive jumps by cutting scoring defense from 77.7 points per game in 2024-25 to 70.8 in 2025-26. Temple also held opponents to 32.4 percent shooting from 3-point range and averaged 4.0 blocks per game.

The season also featured major growth from Temple’s core. Derrian Ford blossomed into one of the conference’s top scorers, averaging 18.1 points per game after averaging 8.0 at Arkansas State. Aiden Tobiason surged from 4.8 points per game as a freshman to 15.3 as a sophomore. Gavin Griffiths developed into a two-way weapon, averaging 10.1 points, hitting 63 3-pointers and ranking second in the conference in both total blocks and blocks per game. Jordan Mason gave the Owls a true point guard presence, averaging 11.8 points and 4.0 assists per game while ranking second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio.

A former head basketball manager at South Carolina, Seth Needle completed his second season as a graduate assistant with the Temple men's basketball program in 2924-25 season.

The Owls made significant progress in the second season under Fisher's staff, improving their regular-season win total by five and adding four additional victories in AAC play. Temple's offense shined, setting a new program record of 78.8 points per game. Defending the Liacouras Center with pride, the Owls boasted a 12-2 record on North Broad Street, defeating No. 18 Memphis and North Texas. Temple became the only AAC team to beat the top two seeded conference teams in the regular season.

In 2023-24, Temple became the first team in American Athletic Conference history to win four games in four days at the conference tournament and helped guide Temple to its first appearance in the AAC championship game. TU finished second in program history with 296 made three-pointers and were 31st nationally with just 9.9 turnovers per game. The Owls also came away with 7.4 steals an outing, a jump of more than two per game from the previous season and their highest total since 2018-19.

Needle earned his BS in sport management from South Carolina in 2023.

The Seth Needle File