Rick Higgins Named Salt Lake City Stars Head Coach
Jun 17, 2025, 12:26 PM
Salt Lake City Stars head coach Rick Higgins (photo courtesy of the Utah Jazz)
(photo courtesy of the Utah Jazz)
SALT LAKE CITY – Rick Higgins will be the next head coach of the Salt Lake City Stars, the team announced on Tuesday.
The move comes amid a series of offseason adjustments by the organization, including internal promotions to the Utah Jazz.
Related: Stars Announce Changes To Front Office
Rick Higgins Named Stars Head Coach
Higgins will join the Stars after spending the last two seasons on the Jazz’s bench under head coach Will Hardy.
The former Jazz assistant is the sixth head coach in Stars history, and will replace Steve Wojciechowski, who is joining Hardy’s staff in a full-time role.
A new @slcstars head coach calls for a new episode of #RoundballRoundup 🎙️
Listen now or wherever you get your podcasts 🎧 https://t.co/tzwxAIIAPM#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/4nsF13pz7w
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 17, 2025
Though Wojciechowski is only now officially joining Hardy’s staff, the former Stars coach was a familiar face at Jazz games over the last two seasons, helping the coaching staff when between G League games.
Before joining the Jazz, Higgins had been an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets during their latest rebuild.
“I’m looking forward to taking on this opportunity to lead the Stars and continuing within the Jazz organization,” Higgins said in a release from the team. “The Stars play a critical role in the development structure of the Jazz and I plan to continue to build on the team’s successes, preparing players for the next level.”
Higgins Is Latest Move In Busy Offseason For Stars
The Stars will have new faces in several key roles as they begin the 2025-26 season. Former general manager Marquis Newman was promoted to Director of Pro Scouting for the Jazz, while Katie Benzan will fill Newman’s role as the General Manager for the Stars.
Newman, a Cyprus High School graduate and a University of Utah alum, has been with the Jazz since 2014, when he was hired as a Basketball Operations Assistant before being promoted to Coordinator of Pro Scouting in 2018.
Benzan played three years at Harvard before finishing her career at the University of Maryland, where she played from 2020-2022.
Sources: Utah Jazz will promote Marquis Newman to Director of Pro Scouting and Katie Benzan to Salt Lake City Stars G League GM. Newman has spent 11 years with Utah. Benzan is the second current female G League GM and played for the WNBA’s Mystics before joining the Jazz in 2022. pic.twitter.com/BcNzuvE7XZ
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 9, 2025
Related: Jazz Name Austin Ainge President Of Basketball Operations
After college, Benzan played three games for the Washington Mystics, becoming the first Dominican player in league history.
Benzan first joined the Jazz as a Basketball Generalist in 2022 before being promoted to Assistant General Manager for the Stars in 2024.
The moves come after the Jazz named Austin Ainge, son of CEO Danny Ainge, as the team’s President of Basketball Operations.
Under Newman, the Stars made three consecutive trips to the G League playoffs.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
