Wheaton, Ill. – Wheaton College men's basketball coach Mike Schauer has announced the hiring of Jon Panner as the full-time assistant coach for the Thunder men's basketball team. He replaces Arte Culver, who was named the head men's basketball coach at Covenant College in July.

Panner has served as a part-time coach for the Thunder men's basketball program in six seasons. He joined the Wheaton coaching staff as a part-time assistant in the 2008-09 campaign and was on the bench through the 2011-12 season. He re-joined Schauer's coaching staff as a part-time assistant for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Schauer noted, "When the position opened one of the very first people I talked to was Jon Panner, who has been with me longer than any assistant coach I have ever worked with as a head coach. However, when we first talked the timing was not right for Jon. In the last week or so Jon came back and said that he wanted to talk about the position and that really made the process easy." Schauer concluded, "I wanted to get a Wheaton guy, a Schauer guy, somebody who had been around the program and Jon checks all of those boxes and more."

In his elevated role as a full-time assistant coach, Panner will be involved in Wheaton's recruiting and player development; as well as scouting and game preparation.

Panner is a 2007 graduate of the University of Texas, with a BBA in Marketing. Prior to joining the Wheaton coaching staff, he was a varsity assistant coach and JV head coach at Regents School of Austin in Austin, Texas during the 2007-08 season. In 2006, Panner completed an internship with the San Antonio Spurs Marketing and Promotions Department.

Jon and his wife Lauren reside in Wheaton.