Director of Athletics Denise Udelhofen announced on Thursday five finalists for the vacant Head Men’s Basketball Coach position. The search committee reviewed over 170 applications before selecting five to advance to the next round.

Aaron Aanonsen, current head coach at Lakeland College, enters with 11 years of coaching experience, including 10 at the Division III level. In nine years as the head coach at Lakeland, Aanonsen has led the Muskies to six appearances in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament, winning the tournament title and earning a trip to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship during the 2012-13 season. Aanonsen earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport studies from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and later earned his master’s degree from Minnesota State Moorhead in educational leadership.

Mike DeGeorge, current head coach at Rhodes College, has been coaching at the Division III level since 1993. In six years at Rhodes, DeGeorge has led the Lynx to two Southern Athletic Associations Championships, including the first in 20 years for the program. DeGeorge’s coaching history has brought him to Iowa on two separate occasions, serving as the head men’s basketball coach at Grinnell College (1999-00) and Cornell College (2004-09). A 1992 graduate of Monmouth University with a degree in psychology, DeGeorge earned his master’s degree from Viterbo University in education.

Kent Derbach, current associate head coach at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, brings with him 11 years of coaching experience, including six at the Division I level and five at the Division III level. In his five seasons at UW-Stevens Point, Derbach helped lead the Pointers to the 2015 NCAA Division III National Championship, as well as three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. A graduate of Carthage College, Derbach earned his bachelor’s degrees in sport management and psychology and later earned his master’s degree from The Ohio State University in physical activity and educational services.

Chris Martin, current assistant coach at Elmhurst College, has six years of coaching experience, five at the Division III level and one at the professional level in Germany. In five seasons as the assistant at Elmhurst, Martin has helped to spearhead the turnaround in the Bluejays basketball program, taking a team who went 14-36 in the two seasons prior to his arrival to a 42-15 record over the previous two seasons. A graduate of Elmhurst College, Martin earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management, and later earned his master’s in teaching from the University of Southwest.

Jason Steege, current assistant coach at Wartburg College, is a 10 year coaching veteran, all of which coming with the Knights. In his six seasons as the assistant coach at Wartburg, Steege has helped lead the Knights to three appearances in the Iowa Conference Tournament Championship games. A graduate of Wartburg College, Steege earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and will complete his master’s degree program in physical education at the University of Northern Iowa this spring.

All five candidates have been invited to campus and will partake in individual interviews over the course of a two-week period. The Loras Athletic Department hopes to select and have its next head men’s basketball coach in place by Friday, April 15.

http://duhawks.com/news/2016/3/31/loras-announces-head-mens-basketball-coach-finalists.aspx

Photo Courtesy Loras Athletics