Eylijah (E.J.) Stephens ’21 joined the Lafayette men’s basketball coaching staff during the 2025-26 season as the Director of Operations. He is currently in his second season with the squad.
In 2025-26, the Leopards (11-21, 8-10 PL) faced a challenging non-conference schedule prior to hosting the second annual Lafayette Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. The Maroon and White swept Holy Cross and Army through Patriot League play with five league wins coming from a persistent, combined 11 points. The program celebrated captain Ryan Pettit '26 for Senior Day before heading to the First Round of the conference tournament on March 3. Stephens oversaw the development of two starting guards who brought in respective All-Patriot League Third Team and Academic All-League honors. He helped coach student-athletes to statistically significant figures, such as top 10 in conference for 11 categories and a seventh-place rating in the NCAA for assist-turnover ratio.
As a Leopard, Stephens competed in over 103 contests, totaling 1,017 points, 307 rebounds and 175 assists in his career. Following his senior season as a co-captain, he earned Second Team All-Patriot League laurels, a NABC All-District 13 Second Team nod and three Lafayette Dean’s List awards. The Psychology major was also chosen as the Oaks Leadership “Leader of Distinction.” To this day, Stephens ranks 11th in the conference for his 90.4 free throw percentage.
The Plantation, Fla. native furthered his education as a transfer with the University of Minnesota, playing in all games that winter, securing a Master’s in Sports Management.
Stephens continued his athletic career with England’s Cheshire Phoenix in the British Basketball League (BBL) from 2023-24. Under head coach Ben Thomas, he helped lead the Phoenix to a BBL Trophy Final victory over the EuroCup powerhouse London Lions.
Most recently, he played for the Newcastle Falcons in Australia's NBL1 East Division during the 2025 season alongside former Leopards Leo O'Boyle '23 and Myles Cherry '20.
Upon returning to the United States, Stephens acted as an assistant coach for Plantation High School. He assisted in game planning, opponent scouting and player development for the varsity team, ultimately leading to the program’s first back-to-back 10+ win seasons in over 20 years.
Updated 6/26
