University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Announce Addition of Pegues and McLelland
6/8/2026 1:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STORRS – UConn head coach Dan Hurley has announced a pair of staff additions for the upcoming 2026-27 season, adding assistant coach Mike Pegues and director of men's basketball strength and conditioning Justin McClelland to the program. Pegues joins the Huskies after four years on the staff at Butler and brings more than 15 years of collegiate coaching experience to Storrs. McClelland, a Naugatuck native, returns to Connecticut after prior stops at Villanova, Clemson, ECU and Florida.
"Excited to add a coach of Mike's caliber to our organization," Hurley said. "He has proven throughout his career to be an excellent coach and a tireless recruiter. His ability to help develop our big men and his high-major experience, especially in the BIG EAST, will be huge for us. Mike is a well-respected figure in basketball circles who has succeeded at a high level for a long time."
Pegues comes to UConn after spending 2022-26 under Thad Matta on the staff at Butler. During his time with the Bulldogs, BU made two postseason appearances and won a pair of in-season tournaments. He played a key role in the development of First Team All-BIG EAST pick and honorable mention All-America selection Michael Ajayi, who set the Butler single-season rebounding record a season ago.
Prior to making the move to Indianapolis he spent four years in the ACC on staff at Louisville (2018-22) alongside Chris Mack, under whom he also coached six years at Xavier (2012-18). During his time at UofL he also coached 18 games as the head coach in the 2021-22 season, going 5-1 in an early-season stretch during Mack's suspension and the final 12 games of the season. While in Derby City, the Cardinals compiled a 70-47 record, making the 2019 NCAA Tournament and on track to earn a protected seed in the canceled 2020 tournament. Pegues helped land a pair of top-20 recruiting classes to Louisville.
In his six seasons as an assistant at Xavier, Pegues helped the Musketeers to a 142-67 record and five NCAA Tournament bids. With Pegues on staff, Xavier reached an Elite Eight and a pair of Sweet 16s and earned the school's first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and first BIG EAST regular season title.
Before Xavier he spent two seasons under Monte Ross as an assistant at his alma mater Delaware (2010-12). He began his coaching career in 2009-10 at VCU as the Rams' video coordinator. Pegues had a stellar collegiate career at UDel, where he earned a degree in communications in 2000. He is the all-time leading scorer in Delaware men's basketball history with 2,030 points and led the Blue Hens to two NCAA Tournament appearances, playing under head coach Mike Brey from 1996-2000. He was a two-time All-District selection and a 2000 CoSIDA Academic All-American and became the first Delaware men's player to be named the America East Conference Player of the Year as a junior. He was inducted into the Delaware Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.
A native of Washington, D.C., Pegues had an impressive prep career at national power DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., where he helped the Stags to a combined 105-26 record and two No. 1 rankings in the metro area while playing for Hall of Famer Morgan Wootten.
Following his career at Delaware he played professionally in Italy, New Zealand, England and Argentina, as well as one season in the Continental Basketball Association. After a knee injury, he retired from playing and returned home to teach at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, D.C. He served as an assistant coach for three seasons at Bishop O'Connell High School under Joe Wootten, son of Morgan. He also coached the DC Assault AAU squad.
Pegues has a son, Michael Anthony Pegues III, who was born in June of 2020.
"We're confident that Justin will carry the championship-level expectations we have in all aspects of our program to our strength and conditioning unit," Hurley said. "His experience preparing athletes at the highest level in the best leagues in the country will have a huge impact in ensuring our guys are physically and mentally ready to continue to compete for titles."
McClelland most recently served as the Sports Performance Coach for Men's Basketball at Villanova from 2023-26. With the Wildcats he developed detailed strength and nutrition plans for each student-athlete while working closely with the coaching and athletic training staffs. Prior to VU he spent 2020-23 at Clemson in the same capacity. Other stops include East Carolina (2016-17), Florida (2015-16), a prior stint at Villanova (2014-15), Germantown Academy (2013-15) and Eastern University (2013-14).
Originally from Naugatuck, Conn., McClelland graduated from West Woods Christian Academy in Hamden before he played basketball at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa. He played in 37 games for the Eagles and graduated in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. He earned a masters in exercise science and health promotion with a concentration in performance enhancement and injury prevention from California University of Pennsylvania in 2015.
