COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – The National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) and the High Performance Committee are excited to announce the staff that will support the U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Under 23 Team at the 2025 IWBF Men’s U23 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship.
Scott Meyer of Columbia, Missouri, will serve as head coach for the squad, signaling his first head coaching assignment of a NWBA High Performance team. Meyer most recently served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s team that secured a third consecutive gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
Joining Meyer on the sidelines as assistant coaches are Ron Lykins of Columbia, Missouri, and Michael Auprince of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The other two staff members are Preston Howell of Belmont, North Carolina, as team leader, and Camden Bentley of Auburn, Alabama as medical staff.
The 2025 IWBF Men’s U23 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship is scheduled for June 12-20 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The IWBF Men’s U23 World Championship is one of the most anticipated events on the international wheelchair basketball calendar, offering a platform for the next generation of elite athletes to display their skills and represent their nations on the world stage.
Click here for more IWBF Men’s U23 information. Please make sure to visit https://www.nwba.org/usawb (select the Men’s U23 tab), and the NWBA on social media for updates on the team.
In addition to helping the U.S. Men’s National Team become the first-ever men’s team to win three straight Paralympic Gold Medals, Meyer helped Team USA earn gold at the 2022 IWBF World Championships and the 2023 Parapan American Games. He got his coaching start at the U.S. national team level in 2017, assisting the U.S. U23 Men’s team at the 2017 IWBF U23 Men’s World Championships. Meyer also was a six-year assistant coach for the University of Missouri wheelchair basketball team. He also served as the team leader of U.S. Men’s National Team staff from 2013-2019. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in health science and earned two master’s degrees in public health and education from the University of Missouri.
“I'm so excited to lead this group of young men and represent our country. It's a tremendous honor to serve as head coach and I am grateful for both the opportunity and responsibility.”
Lykins returns to a U.S. National Team bench as the winningest international coach in NWBA history – winning Gold in four Paralympic Games (2004 and 2008 for U.S. Women; and 2016 and 2020 for U.S. Men).
First appointed head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team in 2013, Lykins has coached in 17 international competitions, reaching the gold-medal games in 15 of those, and bringing home the top podium finish in 10 events. On top of those accolades, Lykins is the first head coach to win Paralympic gold medals with both the U.S. Men’s and U.S. Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Teams.
Lykins has coached at every level within the NWBA. He coaches within the Intercollegiate Division at the University of Missouri, along with stops at the University of Kentucky and University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. He also coached at the community level with the Atlanta Hawks Wheelchair Basketball Team and Minnesota Junior Rolling Timberwolves. Lykins accomplishments in the sport of wheelchair basketball were recently highlighted as he was inducted into the 2018 class of the NWBA Hall of Fame.
Auprince currently serves as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama, helping the Crimson Tide win the 2023 NWBA Intercollegiate National Championship. He was a student-athlete at Alabama, winning two NWBA Intercollegiate Division National Championships, earning MVP honors in 2017. He went on to play internationally in Germany (RSV Lahn Fill) and Australia (Rebound WA). He was a member of the Australian National team from 2013-2022, earning bronze medals at the 2013 IWBF U23 World Championship and the 2018 IWBF World Championship, in addition to four- Asia Oceania championships. He was also a Paralympic swimmer, earning gold and bronze medals at the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
Aurprince graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and is working towards a master’s degree in hospitality management.
Howell is making his second appearance on a NWBA High Performance team as the team leader, serving in the role at the 2021 U23 World Championship. Howell is the head coach of the Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets varsity team in the NWBA’s Junior Division and has served as the Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference of the NWBA. Professionally, Howell is a Software Engineer at Mantissa Corporation where he has amassed nearly 30 years of professional experience.
Bentley is currently the Athletic Trainer and Head of Strength and Conditioning for Auburn University Adapted Athletics and was the Athletic Trainer and Head of Strength and Conditioning for the USA Team Handball Wheelchair National Team that won silver at the 2024 World Championship. Bentley also assisted the U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball National Team for international friendlies in Ottawa, Canada, the 2024 Rocky Mountain Cup in Colorado Springs and the 2024 Coastal Continental Clash in Charlotte.
Bentley earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from James Madison University in 2013 and is working towards a master of science degree in exercise science from Auburn.
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