Rob DePersia, who served as the Assistant Director of Basketball Operations the last two seasons, was named Director of Basketball Operations in September 2024. He moves into the opening created by the departure of Joey Flannery, who moved on to become the Associate Head Coach at Babson College, his alma mater.
DePersia is a native of Cherry Hill, N.J. who was a four year-starter at Rowan University from 2015-19. He first came to Villanova as a graduate manager in 2019 and spent two seasons on the staff of Jay Wright. In 2021 DePersia accompanied William B. Finneran Endowed Head Coach Kyle Neptune to Fordham University, where he served as the Video Coordinator. When Neptune returned to Villanova as Head Coach in April 2022, DePersia accompanied him, becoming the Assistant Director of Basketball Operations.
“Rob has been an integral part of our staff, both here and during my time at Fordham,” stated Neptune. “In that time, Rob has consistently demonstrated what makes him an outstanding young coach. He’s a great asset not just to our staff, but to our players.”
From 2019 through 2021, DePersia served as a graduate manager with the Wildcats. In his time at the school, the Wildcats won two BIG EAST regular season championships, a pair of Big 5 titles, and advanced to the NCAA Sweet in 2021.
Prior to Villanova, DePersia was a four-year starter and three-year captain for Rowan University. The point guard became the first player in school history to record 1,000 or more points and 500 or more assists.
DePersia helped the Profs to a 22-7 record in 2018-2019 as Rowan won the conference title and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament. He and his twin brother, Nick, both averaged double figures with Rob leading the team in assists and Nick topping the squad in scoring. Nick DePersia enters his second seasons as a graduate manager at Villanova in 2024-25.
A native of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, DePersia received a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Rowan in 2019 and a master’s in business administration from Villanova in 2021.
