William Stephens

Biography

Joining Duke Athletics in 1998, Will Stephens has been with the Blue Devils for more than two decades. He was named Executive Director of Sports Performance in July 2021. Stephens spent 27 seasons with the men's basketball program until 2025, and 17 seasons in the same role with women's basketball until 2016. During his time with the Duke basketball programs, he coached 60 NBA players, 21 WNBA players, 42 NBA first-round draft picks (including 29 lottery picks) and 11 WNBA first-round draft picks. Thanks in part to Stephens' emphasis on the physical development of his athletes, former Blue Devils have posted 47 top-10 finishes in the 6-NBA-Combine-Test from 2000-25. He has been a part of 19 ACC regular-season championships (8 men's, 11 women's), 22 ACC tournament titles (14 men's, 8 women's), 11 Final Fours (7 men's, 4 women's) and three National Championships. He is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and has held its certification of Strength and Conditioning Specialist since 1996. Prior to Duke, Stephens worked in law enforcement for 13 years. He was also an accomplished powerlifter, winning three State Drug-Free Powerlifting Championships from 1991-93. Stephens set the state record for deadlift (661 pounds) in 1993, and won a gold medal at the 1994 World Championships for Law Enforcement. He was nationally ranked in the top 100 for the 242-pound weight class by Powerlifting USA Magazine from 1993-95. A native of Whiteville, North Carolina, he gr