CHICAGO – Tristan Popa is the newest member of the Saint Xavier University men's basketball coaching staff, joining the program earlier this month. He comes to the Cougars after coaching with another NAIA squad, Oakland City University (Ind.), where he was instrumental in coaching the NAIA's leading shot blocker, Lohan DJ Biatcha, who averaged 3.2 blocks per game with a total of 89, third most in the country. Popa will serve as lead assistant under head coach Robert Ford, who enters his sixth season at the helm of SXU.

He had this to say about joining the coaching staff: "I am really excited for the opportunity to work with Coach Ford, and I can't wait to help Saint Xavier compete for a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Championship this season!"

While with the Mighty Oaks, Popa recruited and coached a pair of All-River States Conference (RSC) selections, a first teamer and a third teamer, respectively. From 2023-25, he was an assistant coach at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College (Ind.), another NAIA school. With the Pomeroy's, Popa was a part of a coaching staff that guided SMWC to an overall record of 53-15, including a 30-4 mark in 2024-25 resulting in an RSC regular season and RSC tournament championships. In his two seasons with St. Mary-of-the-Woods, he helped lead the program to its first two NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship Opening Round Tournament appearances, reaching the final site with a quarterfinal game in Kansas City, Mo. in 2024-25. During that two-year run, Popa coached multiple All-RSC First and Second Team selections, as well as the 2023-24 RSC Player of the Year, and multiple NAIA All-American honorees.

He started his coaching career in 2022-23 as an assistant at North Dakota State College of Science, a Division I NJCAA program. The team finished 29-4, winning the Mon-Dak Conference regular season crown, as well as an NJCAA Region XIII Championship and a runner-up finish in the North Central District. Popa helped coach two players to All-Conference First Team honors and one Second Team selection in his lone season at NDSCS.

Popa played collegiately at NCAA Division II Tiffin University (Ohio) and he graduated with a degree in Communications and Business Management.