WKU basketball has added Hennssy Auriantal to the staff as an assistant coach, head coach Rick Stansbury announced Tuesday. 

Auriantal is a former Division I player himself, as the new Hilltopper assistant played at Wisconsin from 1995-99. He played in the NCAA Tournament twice, and was named to the Big Ten All-Academic Team twice.

Auriantal’s proposed salary is approximately $200,000, the school told the Herald on Thursday. It is still waiting approval to be sent to the WKU Board of Regents. Sixty percent of the funding for his salary will come from donors.

That salary would be the same as assistant coach Marc Hsu’s, who makes $200,004 per year, according to numbers provided to the Herald by the university. Hsu has been coaching basketball at the college level since 2003.

“We’re happy to have Hennssy join our program,” Stansbury said in a press release. “He brings coaching and playing experience at the D-I level in all areas. Besides that, he’s a terrific person and has a beautiful family. We’re excited to have him as part of our team.”

Auriantal is also the founder of the Yes II Success program, which helps bring young international players to America. Current Hilltoppers Moustapha Diagne and Charles Bassey were both aided by Auriantal in coming to America to play basketball. Auriantal is currently the guardian for both Diagne and Bassey. 

Before joining the Hilltopper staff, Auriantal was an assistant at Jackson State in Jackson, Mississippi, from 2014-16. 

A Canadian native, Auriantal played for the Canadian National Team after graduating from Wisconsin. 

Sports Editor Jeremy Chisenhall can be reached at 270-745-6291 and [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JSChisenhall.