By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 14 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by Just Play Solutions. These coaches are now eligible to receive the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award presented by Just Play Solutions which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2021-22 college basketball season.
This is the seventh season that HoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list 2021-22 Coach of the Week winners, as well as the list of all-time COY winners can be found following this week’s honorees.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 14 winners are:
NCAA DI: Matt McMahon – Murray State University
Leading a ranked team for the first time in his career, Coach McMahon guided Murray State to a pair of come-from-behind road victories this week to remain unbeaten in the OVC. The then-No. 23 Racers trailed Tennessee State by seven at halftime on Thursday, but outscored the hosts 44-26 in the second half to come away with a 73-62 win. Murray State’s next contest came on Saturday, against a Morehead State team that had won 20 straight games at home. Down by nine with just 5:17 remaining, the Racers closed the game on a 17-3 run to escape with a 57-53 triumph. Now ranked 21st in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, Murray State (24-2, 14-0 OVC) returns to action on Thursday evening, when it faces off against Austin Peay at home.
NCAA DII: Clark Sheehy – Southwest Baptist University
With three more hard-fought victories this week, Coach Sheehy’s squad extended their winning streak to six. The Bearcats began the week on the road, taking an 88-83 double-overtime victory over McKendree in a back-and-forth affair on Monday. Returning home on Thursday, Southwest Baptist was able to take down UIndy by a score of 72-62 before facing off against Southern Indiana on Saturday. The Bearcats faced a six-point halftime deficit, but outscored the visitors 51-34 in the second half to come away with an 82-71 win. Now 18-4 (12-3 GLVC) on the season, Southwest Baptist currently owns its best record since the 2008-09 campaign. Their next contest comes on the road against Illinois-Springfield on Thursday.
NCAA DIII: Brandon Linton – Tufts University
In his first year at Tufts, Coach Linton has guided the Jumbos to the No. 2 seed in the NESCAC Tournament, thanks in large part to three huge wins to close out the regular season this past week. Tufts opened the week at Colby, out-rebounding the hosts by 11 in a 61-53 triumph. Back in action on Saturday, the Jumbos hosted No. 12 Williams, jumping out to a 37-23 halftime lead on the way to an 81-66 victory. Tufts got off to another double-digit halftime lead in the regular season finale on Sunday, leading Middlebury by 14 at the half in an 81-73 win. The 13-9 (8-2 NESCAC) Jumbos will look to carry the momentum from their six-game winning streak to end the regular season over to the NESCAC Tournament, where they will face either Trinity or Bates on Sunday afternoon.
NAIA: Donnie Bostwick – Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Coach Bostwick picked up the 400th victory of his career as his 6th-ranked Eagles won two more games this week. A 79-71 triumph over York on Monday marked the milestone for Coach Bostwick, who is in his ninth season with Oklahoma Wesleyan (across two stints), and 15th season overall. His squad returned to action on Saturday, taking a dominant 80-60 victory over a tough Ottawa squad. Now 26-2 (19-2 KCAC) on the season, Oklahoma Wesleyan will take on Southwestern on the road in its penultimate regular season contest on Wednesday.
JUCO: Brent Wilson – SUNY Sullivan
Coach Wilson certainly had a week to remember, as his Generals picked up three more impressive victories and he became the program’s all-time wins leader. The then-No. 4 Generals hosted previously unbeaten 11th-ranked Orange County Community College on Tuesday, jumping out to a 20-point halftime lead and fending off a late comeback attempt to hold on for a 98-96 triumph. A 103-65 victory at Rockland Community College on Thursday was win No. 187 for Coach Wilson, moving him into first place on Sullivan’s all-time wins list. With a 103-77 win over Bryant & Stratton on Saturday, Wilson now holds a record of 188-47 across eight-plus seasons at Sullivan. His Generals, now ranked 3rd in the latest NJCAA DII Top 20 Poll with a record of 19-3, will host Ulster County Community College on Tuesday evening.
2021-22 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Gerald Gillion – Chicago State University
NCAA DII: Jeff Brookman – Anderson University
NCAA DIII: Rich Sutter – Westfield State University
NAIA: Kurt Paulson – Carroll College
JUCO: Jeremy Shulman – Eastern Florida State College
NCAA DI: Lamont Paris – Chattanooga
NCAA DII: Bart Lundy – Queens University of Charlotte
NCAA DIII: Chris Carideo – Widener University
NAIA: Chris Wright – Talladega College
JUCO: Allen Sharpe – Wallace State Community College
NCAA DI: T.J. Otzelberger – Iowa State
NCAA DII: Todd Duncan – Lubbock Christian University
NCAA DIII: Jeff Brown – Middlebury College
NAIA: Tigh Compton – University of Pikeville
JUCO: Hank Plona – Indian Hills Community College
NCAA DI: Ed Cooley – Providence College
NCAA DII: Greg Clink – Cal State Chico
NCAA DIII: Tim Fusina – Waynesburg University
NAIA: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University New Orleans
JUCO: Kyle Taylor – Salt Lake Community College
NCAA DI: Kevin Willard – Seton Hall University
NCAA DII: Jason Taylor – Newberry College
NCAA DIII: Scott Coval – DeSales University
NAIA: Alfred Williams – Xavier University of Louisiana
JUCO: Jake Williams – Dodge City Community College
NCAA DI: Speedy Claxton – Hofstra University
NCAA DII: Justin Weick – University of Minnesota Duluth
NCAA DIII: Raul Placeres – Maryville College
NAIA: Brandon Espinosa – Paul Quinn College
JUCO: Bill Beilein – Niagara County CC
NCAA DI: Jerry Stackhouse – Vanderbilt University
NCAA DII: D2 winter break – no games played
NCAA DIII: Jimmy Smith – Trinity College (TX)
NAIA: Not enough games played (winter break + COVID cancellations)
JUCO: Not enough games played (winter break + COVID cancellations)
NCAA DI: Scott Drew – Baylor University
NCAA DII: Shawn Walker – Elizabeth City State University
NCAA DIII: Ron Rose – Illinois Wesleyan University
NAIA: Colby Blaine – The College of Idaho
JUCO: Brandon Giles – Polk State College
NCAA DI: Jim Larrañaga – University of Miami
NCAA DII: Vinay Patel – Northwestern Oklahoma State University
NCAA DIII: Todd McGuinness – Case Western Reserve University
NAIA: Lance Von Vogt – William Jessup University
JUCO: Greg Heiar – Northwest Florida State College
NCAA DI: Dana Altman – University of Oregon
NCAA DII: Craig Doty – Emporia State University
NCAA DIII: Pat Juckem – Washington University in St. Louis
NAIA: Preston Ingram – Missouri Baptist University
JUCO: Bill Morosco – Garden City CC
NCAA DI: Chris Victor – Seattle University
NCAA DII: George Suggs – McKendree University
NCAA DIII: Ryan Mee – Vassar College
NAIA: Matt O’Brien – Southwestern College
JUCO: Victor Correa – Suffolk County CC
NCAA DI: Bruce Pearl – Auburn University
NCAA DII: Bob Pietrack – Fort Lewis College
NCAA DIII: Don Friday – Penn State Harrisburg
NAIA: Kyle Blankenship – LSU Shreveport
JUCO: Mike Hunter – Lakeland CC
NCAA DI: LeVelle Moton – North Carolina Central University
NCAA DII: Matt Healing – Pace University
NCAA DIII: Brian Baptiste – UMass Dartmouth
NAIA: Stan Holt – Presentation College
JUCO: Brennan McCarthy – Northampton CC
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2020-21: Dennis Gates – Cleveland State University
- 2019-20: Joe Gallo – Merrimack College
- 2018-19: Kelvin Sampson – University of Houston
- 2017-18: Porter Moser – Loyola University Chicago
- 2016-17: Chris Collins – Northwestern University
- 2015-16: Roy Williams – University of North Carolina
Division II
- 2020-21: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2019-20: Fred Watson – Miles College
- 2018-19: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2017-18: Andy Bronkema – Ferris State
- 2016-17: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2015-16: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University
Division III
- 2020-21: Brooks Miller – Trine University
- 2019-20: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University
- 2018-19: Dale Wellman – Nebraska Wesleyan University
- 2017-18: Eric Bridgeland – Whitman College
- 2016-17: Stephen Brennan – Babson College
- 2015-16: John Tauer – University of St. Thomas
NAIA
- 2020-21: Delano Thomas – Shawnee State University
- 2019-20: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
- 2018-19: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College
- 2017-18: Craig Doty – Graceland University
- 2016-17: Kevin Burton – Union College
- 2015-16: Larry Cordaro – LSU-Alexandria
JUCO
- 2020-21: No winner named – COVID season
- 2019-20: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
- 2018-19: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College
- 2017-18: Paul Cisek – Brookdale Community College
- 2016-17: Todd Lorensen – Southwestern Community College
- 2015-16: Craig Doty – Rock Valley College
USCAA
- 2018-19: LeShawn Hammett – Penn State Wilkes-Barre
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About Just Play Solutions
Just Play Solutions has become the market leader in coaches’ workflow. A platform to help coaches prepare playbooks, automate scouting reports, research analytics, integrate and distribute video, manage recruiting workflow, and organize recruiting schedules. The end-to-end platform is used by over 700 customers across the country and internationally in football, basketball, and lacrosse.
