WATERBURY, Conn. -- A pair of Owls have entered the Eagle Nest as Mark Carbone, hailing from Citrus College, was named the first full-time Assistant Men's Basketball Coach for Head Coach Marc Kuntz, while Kuntz also adds a former four-year player and one-year Assistant Coach from Southern Connecticut State University in Zack Penn as well to his staff for the upcoming 2025-26 season that will kick off in November.

Carbone comes to Waterbury, Connecticut after spending the last four years (2022-25) at Citrus College in Glendora, California as the Head Assistant Basketball Coach for two seasons before being named the Associate Head Coach of the program last season under Brett Lauer. In charge of the offense for three seasons, Carbone led the team to an average of 90 points per game during his time with the Owls, while they led the CCCAA in scoring in his final season with 102.6 points per game. In all, the Owls had a .840 win percentage during Carbone's three years, winning 86 games with three conference championships and two CCCAA Final Four appearances.

In addition to the offense, Carbone was in charge of assisting in player development, strategy implementation, and recruiting efforts which helped matriculate nearly two dozen players to four-year institutions in his three seasons. Carbone also served as the Director of Citrus College Summer Basketball Camps, bringing in over 400 kids between the ages of 5-14 for a three-week camp each summer, helping raise nearly $100,000 for the basketball program. On the side, he also served as an adjunct professor at the college. 

"I am really excited to be a part of the Post Men's Basketball family.  I have known Coach Kuntz since he recruited me out of high school to the University of New Hampshire.  He is a great coach who has proven he can win at this level and at the Division I level.  I cannot wait to help him continue to build here at Post and continue to help young men grow on and off the court," said Carbone about his appointment. 

A native to Connecticut, Carbone spent time at San Diego University, the University of New Hampshire, and California Baptist University playing NCAA Division I Basketball from 2016-2021 before serving as a Graduate Assistant Coach for California Baptist during the 2021-22 season. In that role, he assisted with film breakdown, scouting reports, program operations, and on-court player development. 

Carbone is a 2020 graduate from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and earned his Master of Science in Sport Management from California Baptist University in 2022. 

As for Penn, he comes with a variety of experiences across the Nutmeg State starting way back in 2016 as a Basketball Camp Coach for the Highlander Basketball Camp in Winsted, Connecticut, preparing drills and game management during his time there. In 2018, he began a two-year stint as a Head Coach for New Hartford Summer Basketball, a middle school team, in which he was in charge of all aspects of the program. 

Around the same time he began his summer gig, that was also when Penn kicked off his collegiate basketball career at Division II Southern Connecticut State University, appearing in 87 career games and starting in 54 of them with an increase role in his final two years with the Owls. By his senior season, Penn averaged a career-high 10.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game to go along with a career-high 69 assists, 30 steals, and 27 blocks. His efforts earned him the 2022 Owl Awards Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and in 2021 he was a Northeast-10 Elite 24 Award Winner, in addition to having been nominated for the NE10 Man and Student-Athlete of the Year during his time at Southern Connecticut. 

"I am very excited about the opportunity to work at Post University. Thank you to Coach Kuntz for trusting me to help continue the success of this program," said Penn about his upcoming role. 

Following his graduation in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management, Penn went on to be a Graduate Assistant for the Southern Connecticut State University Athletic Department en route to earning his Master of Science in Sports Management, before heading overseas in hopes of kicking off his professional basketball career. Penn would spend one season playing for JSA Bordeaux Metropole Basket in Bordeaux, France, from 2023-24, before returning home to become an Assistant Coach for his alma mater.

Penn spent one season as a coach for the Owls and was responsible for running drills and film production before arriving at Post University in the summer of 2025.