Deshon Portley served as an assistant coach and student-athlete at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He also spent time as a student-athlete and assistant coach at Southern Nazarene University an NCAA Division II University in Bethany, Oklahoma. Portley has also coached on the AAU circuit.

“Deshon has been a highly successful player at the junior college level,” said Brown. “He has also coached at this level and played for Adam Bohac at Southern Nazarene, which is a good program. He understands the ups and downs of junior college because he did it as a coach and a student-athlete. He also had a successful career at Southern Nazarene. We are excited to have him. He has another good mentor up the road at UCM in Coach Bohac. It was important for me to find someone who had recruited in this part of the country. I think it will be good opportunity for both of us.”

Portley served as an assistant coach at Laramie County Community College from 2021 to 2023, where he was responsible for recruiting, film sessions, on the court practices, and academic monitoring. The team finished the semester with a 3.0 grade point average. He handled scouting and game plan preparation for the student-athletes and the head coach, as well as team travel.

Portley served as an assistant coach for Southern Nazarene University from 2017 to 2020. During that span, he helped Southern Nazarene to a pair of conference regular season and tournament championships.

He provided coaching and instruction for on-the-floor practice sessions, as well as assisted with the administration of events. Portley performed video analysis of team game film and film from other universities. He was vided tours of campus facilities for potential recruits. Portley served as the head coach for the junior varsity during the 2019-2020 season and led his team to an 8-1 record and the team averaged 90 points a game.

Portley began his career as a collegiate student-athlete at Laramie County Community College, where he finished as the program's second-leading scorer with 1,221 career points. As a freshman, Portley averaged 18.7 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.6 rebounds. The former guard averaged 21.3 points per game as a sophomore in 2013-14, the seventh-best single-season average in program history. Portley holds the program record for free throw percentage in a single season, shooting .870 percent from the line in the 2012-13 season. He was a two-time all-region selection. Portleywas named an NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention.

Portley transferred to Southern Nazarene where he played in 50 games. Portleymade 110 three-point field goals, the 17th most in program history. He earned All-Great American Conference recognition as a junior and senior. 

“The point guard position is pivotal, and I think he will be a great mentor to our guards,” said Brown. “I think he will teach our guards how to be leaders on the floor based on his playing experience and success along with the finer points of guard play.”

Portley earned a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Southern Nazarene.