Wofford College named Dwight Perry as the head coach of the men’s basketball program on March 21, 2023. Perry spent the previous four seasons at Wofford, two as an assistant coach and two as associate head coach. On December 5, 2022, he was named interim head coach.
In his six overall seasons with Wofford, the team has posted winning records in all six campaigns. He has seen eight different players earn All-Southern Conference honors, along with coaching five players who earned All-Freshman team accolades.
"We are pleased to have Dwight Perry as the head coach of the men's basketball team," said Dr. Nayef Samhat, Wofford's president. "He understands and feels strongly about upholding the values and integrity of the athletics program here at Wofford. Over the course of this past season, he has risen to the challenge of leading a young and committed team with great dignity and enthusiasm."
In just his second full season at the helm of the program, Perry led the Terriers to their sixth Southern Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. The team finished 19-16 overall and 10-8 in conference play. Wofford won the season opener against Erskine, along with key non-conference wins against St. Thomas, North Alabama, Gardner-Webb, and at Saint Louis. The Terriers earned their first conference win of the season on the road at ETSU, adding to the team’s most wins away from home since the 2018-19 season. The season ended with a winning record in conference play and a sixth-place finish in the final standings. The Terriers went on to win three games in three days during the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville, North Carolina, claiming their first title since 2019. Despite falling to No. 2 seed Tennessee in Lexington, Kentucky, the Terriers kept the game in single-digits well into the second half. Corey Tripp and Kyler Filewich earned All-Southern Conference honors. Jackson Sivills and Tripp received All-SoCon Tournament recognition, including Filewich being named the SoCon Tournament MVP.
In his first full season as head coach, the Terriers were 17-15 overall and 10-8 in the Southern Conference. The team won the season opener against Brevard and added key non-conference wins over High Point, Middle Tennessee, Gardner-Webb and Coastal Carolina. League play began with an overtime win over VMI and the team ended with a winning record in the SoCon and a fifth place finish in the final standings. Following the season, Corey Tripp earned All-Southern Conference recognition.
Perry took over as interim head coach on December 5, 2022. Highlights of the 2022-23 season were a road win over Texas A&M and a win over UNC Greensboro in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament. Overall the team was 17-16 on the season and an 8-10 mark in the Southern Conference to finish sixth in the standings. Senior B.J. Mack was named first team All-Southern Conference by the coaches and media, while Jackson Paveletzke earned the league’s Freshman of the Year and All-SoCon third team.
During the 2021-22 campaign, Perry helped guide Wofford to a 19-13 overall record with a 10-8 league clip in his first season as associate head coach. Highlights during the season include a road triumph over the SEC’s Georgia and a home win over Samford. Stars B.J. Mack and Max Klesmit garnered second and third-team All-Southern Conference honors, respectively.
During the 2020-21 season, the Terriers finished just a half game out of first place with a 12-5 mark. The overall record of 15-9 saw the team play a limited non-conference schedule.
In his first season with Wofford in 2019-20, Perry made an immediate impact, scouting upsets of No. 17 North Carolina and the second-seeded Furman Paladins in the Southern Conference Tournament en route to Wofford's second consecutive SoCon Championship appearance.
Wofford has finished as a top-tier three-point shooting program, finishing the 2020-21 season seventh in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (10.2) while finishing fifth in the nation in total three-point field goals made for the 2019-20 season (330). Upon the conclusion of the 2021-22 campaign, the Terriers ranked third in the nation in three-point percentage (35.6) and fifth in both total threes made (303) and threes made per game (9.5).
Prior to Wofford, Perry spent five seasons at Furman University, assisting the Paladins to a 91-68 overall record with three 20-win seasons and a shared regular season title in 2016-17 over the span, while helping recruit and coach 17 all-freshman and all-conference selections, including two SoCon Players of the Year and one Freshman of the Year.
The Durham, North Carolina, native served as a graduate assistant under former Virginia Commonwealth head coach Shaka Smart for two seasons before being named as the Rams’ video coordinator for the 2013-14 campaign. During his three-year stint in Richmond, Va., the Rams posted an 82-26 record and made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, including appearances in the round of 32 in both of Perry’s seasons as a graduate assistant.
A 2010 graduate of the University of Kentucky, Perry played three seasons for the Wildcats and earned a degree in business management. He was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He served as an intern with Stanford’s men’s basketball program for two years before joining VCU, where he earned a master's degree in sport leadership in May of 2013.
Perry married the former Brittany Gee in August of 2016, and the couple has two sons, Dwight III (Trey) and Ashton.
