Thornton enters his seventh season as a volunteer assistant coach with the ESU men's basketball program in 2022-23.
Thornton has helped guide the Warriors to NCAA DII Tournament appearances in two of his seven seasons on the staff. During the 2017-18 campaign, ESU went 27-6 overall and 18-4 in league play en route to claiming the PSAC East Regular Season Title and Tournament Championship, as they defeated Gannon in the title game to advance to the NCAA DII Tournament. In 2018-19, ESU won the PSAC East once again with a 21-8 overall record and a 17-3 mark in conference. The Warriors fell in the PSAC Semifinals but earned an at-large bid to the NCAA DII Tournament.
Thornton, a social studies teacher at Stroudsburg High School, coached basketball at Stroudsburg for 27 years, including 22 as the head coach. During his time there, he led the team to six league championships, two District XI Championships and one PIAAÂ 4A Elite Eight appearance. Thornton is the all-time winningest coach at Stroudsburg with over 300 victories.
Thornton, a graduate of Dickinson College, is originally from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He currently lives in Stroudsburg with his wife, Karin, and his children, Brian and Brittany.
