Dylan Liddell is entering his eighth season with the Davenport men's basketball program in 2023-24 and serves as associate head coach. Liddell, the longest tenured assistant in DU men's basketball history, has been on the bench for 112 wins over the course of his seven seasons in Grand Rapids. His student-athletes have earned 14 All-GLIAC awards since joining NCAA Division II (prior to 2017-18 season) to go along with six All-WHAC awards in his first and only season on the bench during the Panthers' NAIA era. He currently serves as the team's offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator while also being responsible for managing the team's scholarship and operating budgets, assisting with upholding compliance standards, monitoring student-athletes' progress in the classroom, and serving as the liaison to many departments throughout the Davenport campus such as admissions, housing, financial aid, and academic advising.
In 2021-22, Davenport recorded a number of "firsts" for the program. After recruiting a class of seven new student-athletes to go along with a handful of decorated returners, the Panthers earned their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance as an automatic qualifier. The team hit their stride at the right time to finish off the regular season with a four-game win streak before entering the GLIAC Tournament as the eight seed. In the GLIAC Tournament, the Panthers would go on to win another three-straight games, all on the road, to bring their streak to a total of seven. During that stretch, the Panthers defeated their three tournament opponents by a combined 52 points and shot a combined 55.9 percent from the field. In doing so, they became the first team to ever win the GLIAC Tournament title entering as the eighth and final qualifier. With an offensive effort coordinated by Liddell, the season would also see the Panthers record the highest field goal percentage (47.5 percent) and highest three-point field goal percentage (37.3 percent) in their NCAA Division II history.
The Panthers kicked off the 2019-20 campaign by receiving an invitation to compete in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. against some of the best competition that NCAA Division II has to offer. Following their two games at the Classic, the team traveled out to Phoenix, Ariz. and defeated NCAA Division I opponent, Grand Canyon University, in the Lopes' home opener becoming the first team to do so since 2003. This also marked the program's first ever win against a Division I opponent.
The 2018-19 season also saw many "firsts" for both the program and school. DU finished the season with a 27-4 record and clinched the school's first ever GLIAC Regular Season Championship in any sport. Throughout the season, the team would string together the program's longest ever winning streak spanning from January 19th to March 9th for a total of 14 games, 13 of which were in GLIAC play. Unfortunately, due to NCAA Division II provisional member restrictions, the Panthers were unable to continue on to the NCAA Tournament. The team finished with a ranking of No. 12 in the final NABC Coaches Poll, the sixth-best winning percentage in the nation for 2018-19 and the best winning percentage in Davenport men's basketball history at .871. Over the course of the season, Liddell was responsible for developing the wing/forward position group, which would include 2019 GLIAC Player of the Year, Dyllon Hudson-Emory.
In 2017-18, Davenport transitioned from playing an NAIA and WHAC (Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference) schedule to playing an NCAA Division II and GLIAC schedule. The Panthers finished with a 13-15 record, which at the time was the fifth-best record of the past 26 men's basketball programs in their first year of NCAA provisional member status.
In Liddell's first year on staff, the Panthers qualified for their eighth-straight NAIA National Tournament. Throughout the season, the team amassed 24 wins and averaged over 83 points per game while doing so, the highest scoring DU men's basketball season of the decade.
Liddell graduated in 2016 from Grand Valley State University in Allendale. Over his three years at GVSU (2013-16), he served as a student assistant on the staff of former head coach, Ric Wesley. In 2014, he became the program's first ever NCAA recruiting certified student assistant and maintained this certification throughout his last two years with the program. While with the Lakers, Liddell assisted the coaching staff with scouting, recruiting and player development as well as being responsible for other day-to-day operations such as editing and exchanging video, coordinating team travel and supervising a staff of other student assistants.
The Auburn, Ind. native graduated in 2013 from DeKalb High School. He was a four-year member and a two-year team captain for the Baron basketball program.
