Jesse Bopp - Men's Basketball Coach

Jesse Bopp

Title:
Assistant Coach

Bopp brings extensive experience at the collegiate and prep-school levels, with a coaching résumé highlighted by championship success, postseason appearances, and program-building accomplishments across multiple institutions.

Bopp reunited with head coach Jeremy Ballard at Florida International University for the 2018-19 season after the two previously worked together under Shaka Smart at Virginia Commonwealth University from 2013-15. During their first season together at FIU, the Panthers posted a 20-14 overall record and a 10-8 mark in Conference USA, tying for the second-most wins in program history and recording only the third 20-win season in school history. FIU also earned its first postseason tournament victory with an 87-81 win over Texas State University in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).

Over the first two seasons under the Ballard-Bopp leadership group, FIU accumulated 39 victories — the most successful two-year stretch in program history. The Panthers followed their breakthrough season with a 19-13 campaign in 2019-20 before postseason play was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FIU also secured its highest-ever seed in the Conference USA Tournament during Bopp’s tenure.

Overall, Bopp spent eight seasons at FIU, including four years as associate head coach after being elevated prior to the 2021-22 season. He also served as recruiting coordinator beginning in 2019-20 and was named interim head coach following the 2025-26 season.

Before heading to FIU, Bopp served as head varsity coach at IMG Academy during the 2017-18 season, guiding the nationally recognized program to an 18-13 record and an appearance in the NCSAA postseason tournament. Across stops at IMG Academy and Vermont Academy, Bopp compiled a 67-54 overall record as a high school head coach.

Bopp also spent the 2016-17 season as an assistant coach at New Mexico State University, helping guide the Aggies to a school-record 28 victories, a 20-game winning streak, the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship, and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

During the 2015-16 season at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Bopp helped the Mocs achieve a school-record 29 wins, along with Southern Conference regular-season and tournament championships and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009.

From 2013-15, Bopp served as Director of Basketball Operations at VCU under Smart. During that span, the Rams won 52 games, captured the 2015 Atlantic 10 Tournament championship, earned consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, and achieved top-25 national rankings.

Prior to his return to the college ranks, Bopp was head basketball coach at Vermont Academy from 2010-13, where he led the program to three consecutive postseason appearances — the first in school history — while coaching and mentoring numerous future collegiate players.

Bopp began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at VCU during the 2009-10 season, helping the Rams win a school-record 27 games and capture the College Basketball Invitational championship. He previously served as a graduate assistant under Billy Donovan at University of Florida during the 2008-09 season, when the Gators advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals.

A former student-athlete at Plymouth State University, Bopp played from 2003-07 and graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2007. He later earned a master’s degree in Sport Leadership from VCU in 2010.

Bopp and his wife, Brianna Lucas, were married in 2018 and are the proud parents of two sons, Jaxson and Davis.