MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Alverno College Department of Athletics has hired Joshua Steffen as the new Head Basketball Coach, as announced by the Director of Athletics, Antonio Rivas, on Tuesday.  Steffen boasts nearly two decades of collegiate coaching experience, with the last five coming in the city of Milwaukee.

"I am very excited to bring Coach Steffen to Alverno to lead our basketball program," said Rivas, "His experience in rebuilding teams, at a similar institution, and in Division III makes him a great addition to our department and staff. He has a great plan in place to move our program forward and truly cares about the student-athlete experience. Today is a great day for the Inferno."

Steffen arrives at Alverno after five seasons at Mount Mary in Milwaukee, a primarily women's institution. There, he helped lead the team to unprecedented success, particularly in the 2023-24 season. From the start of the 2022-23 season to present, Steffen directed the winningest span in the history of their program. The 2023-24 season marked a high point for Mount Mary Basketball. The team's 12-12 record set new program records for wins, winning percentage, home wins, road wins, NCAA wins, and was the first winning regular season in the team's history. He also became the record holder for wins in the program's history, setting the new program mark in the 2025-26 season. In his first four seasons, he coached his team in the Coast-to-Coast Conference (C2C), which Alverno officially joins on July 1, 2026. In his time working in the C2C, he coached two Rookie of the Year award winners, who won in back-to-back seasons. Steffen also served as the Director of Athletic Communications at Mount Mary. 

"I could not be more excited to be named head basketball coach at Alverno College," Steffen said. "I want to thank President Christy L. Brown, JD, Dean of Students Vanessa Vasquez, and Director of Athletics Antonio Rivas for this amazing opportunity.   We are determined to build a program that facilitates growth and success for our players off and on the court, and the entire campus and Alverno community can be proud of."

Before joining Mount Mary, Steffen had over 14 years of head coaching experience, including nearly 3 years at Stephens College prior to his tenure at Mount Mary. At Stephens, an NAIA-affiliated women's college in Columbia, Missouri, Steffen led the Stars for two seasons, during which he was responsible for all recruiting, scouting, and player development. He also served as Interim Athletic Director for an 11-month period and handled various compliance duties for the Athletics Department.

Prior to his time at Stephens, Steffen served as the head women's basketball coach at NCAA Division III and Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference affiliate Concordia University Chicago in River Forest, Ill., from 2008-2014. He was also head coach at NAIA-affiliate Concordia University Ann Arbor (Mich.) from 2002-2008.

Between his stints at CUC and Stephens, Steffen served as Director of Admissions and Varsity Boys Basketball Coach at Living Word Lutheran High School in Jackson, Wis., where he was responsible for all admissions and marketing efforts for the high school.

The Champaign, Ill., native attended Milwaukee Lutheran High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Wisconsin Lutheran College in 2001, where he also played basketball for the Warriors for four years. He went on to earn a Master of Sports Science in coaching from the United States Sports Academy in 2006.