This off-season, there were 34 NCAA DII schools that made men’s basketball coaching changes. HoopDirt.com has ranked the Top 5 hirings as well as honorable mentions. Also, the complete list of 2015 NCAA DII hirings can be found at the bottom of the page.
Here are HoopDirt.com’s Top 5 NCAA DII hirings:
1. Scott Burrell – Southern Connecticut State University
The former UConn and NBA standout replaces Mike Donnelly who became the head coach at defending DII National Champion Florida Southern back in May. Burrell is a Connecticut native who had spent the past eight seasons as an assistant at nearby Quinnipac University. He was selected as the 20th pick in the 1993 NBA Draft (Charlotte), and was a part of the Chicago Bulls team the won the 1998 NBA Championship. While at UConn, Burrell became the first player in UConn’s Division I history to top 1,500 points, 750 rebounds, 275 assists and 300 steals in his career. He will bring instant name recognition to the Connecticut state school which went 24-8 last year and advanced to the DII Sweet 16. On the recruiting trail, Burrell is very well known in the area and has developed some great inroads during his time at QU. He should be able to attract a ton of in-state talent to Southern.
2. Mark Vanderslice – USC-Aiken 
The former head coach at Louisburg JC (NC) takes over for Vince Alexander who was hired at St. Leo (FL). Vanderslice has done nothing but win during his five years at the North Carolina Junior College – he compiled a 152-20 record, including a 94-11 in league play. During the 2012-13 season his team posted a 35-2 record, the most wins in school history and finished No. 1 in the final national polls. Vanderslice also has knowledge of recruiting the state of South Carolina, having served as an assistant at Furman from 2008-10. He steps into an interesting situation at USC-Aiken. The Pacers only won 13 games last season, but had won 33 the year before.
3. Jim Shaw – Western Oregon University
The long-time DI assistant took the reins at his alma mater after Brady Bergeson departed for Regis (CO). Shaw, a 1985 WOU graduate, was an NAIA honorable mention All-American during his senior season for the Wolves. He has over 25 years experience as an assistant at the DI level – most recently spending two seasons on Randy Bennett’s staff at St. Mary’s. He also worked for Lorenzo Romar at Washington for nine years, and spent five seasons on Kelvin Sampson’s staff at Oklahoma. Additionally, Shaw has been an assistant at Oregon State, Portland, Southern Utah, Montana, and Idaho State. His knowledge of recruiting in the Pacific Northwest should pay dividends immediately for WOU.
4. Ryan Odom – Lenoir-Rhyne College
Big shoes to fill here as Odom replaces John Lentz who retired after 29-seasons at Lenoir-Rhyne (432 wins). Last season, Odom served as the interim head coach at Charlotte after Alan Major took a leave of absence and eventually resigned. Prior to working on Major’s staff, he worked at Virginia Tech (2003-10), (2000-03), UNC Asheville (1999-00) and Furman (1997-99). He is the son of former Wake Forest and South Carolina head coach Dave Odom. A seasoned recruiter, the younger Odom has already landed a DI transfer in Old Dominion guard Keenan Palmore (who will be eligible immediately for L-RC).
5. Drew Diener – Rockhurst University
Another guy who know how to win…Diener compiled a 168-43 over the past six seasons at NAIA Cardinal Stritch (WI). Diener’s teams captured six Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season titles, three CCAC tournament titles and one NAIA DII National Championship. He was named NABC/NAIA UPS National Coach of the Year and Rawlings NAIA Division II Coach of the Year in 2013, and has won the CCAC Coach of the Year Award in five out of the past six seasons. Before becoming the head coach at Cardinal Stritch, Diener was an assistant at Virginia. He replaces Bill O’Conner who retried as the program’s all-time winningest head coach at the end of last season.
Honorable Mention: Patrick Beilein (LeMoyne), Jeff Burkhamer (West Florida), Todd Eisner (Winona State), Scott Flemming (Northwest Nazarene), Brian Reese (Georgian Court).
Here is the complete list of 2015 DII coaching changes:
| SCHOOL | OLD COACH | NEW COACH |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson (SC) | Jason Taylor | Jeff Brookman |
| Angelo State | Chris Beard | Cinco Boone |
| Assumption (Mass.) | Matt Mahar | Michael Harding |
| Central Oklahoma | Terry Evans | Tom Hankins |
| Clayton State | Paul Harrison | Jimmy Link |
| Felician (NY) | Dave DeFerrari | Ivan Lewis |
| Florida Southern | Linc Darner | Mike Donnelly |
| Fresno Pacific (Calif.) | Shane Rinner | Tim Kisner |
| Georgian Court (NJ) | Enrico Mastroianni | Brian Reese |
| Henderson State (Ark.) | Doug Nichols | Jimmy Eglas |
| Kentucky State | Antwain Banks | Darnell Williams |
| Lander (SC) | Jeff Burkhamer | Steve Roberts |
| Le Moyne (NY) | Steve Evans | Patrick Beilein |
| Lenoir-Rhyne | John Lentz | Ryan Odom |
| Lindenwood (MO) | Brad Soderberg | Lance Randall |
| Malone (OH) | Tim Walker | Casey Kaufman (Interim) |
| Mansfield (PA) | Rich Miller | Pat Zipfel |
| Nebraska Kearney (Neb.) | Tom Kropp | Kevin Lofton |
| Northwest Nazarene (ID) | Dave Daniels | Scott Flemming |
| NW Oklahoma (Okla.) | Andrew Brown | Brad Franz |
| Oklahoma Baptist (Okla.) | Doug Tolin | Quinn Wooldrige |
| Pace (N.Y.) | Pat Kennedy | Matthew Healing |
| Regis (Colo.) | Lonnie Porter | Brady Bergeson |
| Rockhurst (Mo) | Bill O'Connor | Drew Diener |
| Shaw (N.C.) | Cleo Hill, Jr | Joel Hopkins |
| Shorter (Ga.) | Chad Warner | Tyler Murray |
| Simon Fraser (Canada) | James Blake | Virgil Hill |
| Southern Connecticut | Mike Donnelly | Scott Burrell |
| St. Leo | Lance Randall | Vince Alexander |
| St. Martin's (Wash.) | Michael Ostlund | Alex Pribble |
| UMary (N.Dak.) | Jevin Budde | Joe Kittell |
| USC Aiken | Vince Alexander | Mark Vanderslice |
| West Florida | Bob Stinnett | Jeff Burkhamer |
| Western Oregon | Brady Bergeson | Jim Shaw |
| Winona State | Mike Leaf | Todd Eisner |
