Glenville State’s Justin Caldwell has stepped down as Head Coach of the Men’s Basketball program, accepting the Assistant Coach position with Coach Dan D’Antoni’s Marshall University program. Caldwell served five years at the helm of the Pioneers. He was 17-13 in his final season at GSU.
He will now be joining D’Antoni, a fellow Mullens, West Virginia native on the bench for the Thundering Herd. Marshall finished 24-8 in ’23 with a young squad.
During Caldwell’s tenure, there were five First Team All-MEC selections; Phil Bledsoe (twice), John Williams (twice), and Turbo Smith. There were four Second Team selections; Hegel Augustin, Adrian Scarborough, Nick Edwards, and Freddie Word. Bledsoe and Williams were All-Region performers as well, with Williams garnering All-America honors in 2021, a season in which he was second in the nation in scoring.
Caldwell’s 2021 team finished second in the Southern Division, and rose to as high as a #13 ranking nationally. His ’21 team also averaged 95.5 points per game, and both his ’21 and ’22 teams averaged over 12 three-pointers a game, leading the nation in 2022.
Four players during this tenure moved on to play on the Division I level; Williams (Florida International), Edwards (Valparaiso), Augustin (Prairie View), and Steven Verplancken (Weber State). Caldwell was the fifth coach since the end of Hall of Famer Gary Nottingham’s reign in 1998, and he produced the highest win percentage of this group. His 2022 team produced a 3.34 team GPA…the highest in program history.
As a player, Caldwell tallied 1997 career points. This included three years at West Virginia Wesleyan and one at Glenville. In his season as a Pioneer, he averaged 23.7 points per game, and tallied 615 points.
“We thank Coach Caldwell for his service to the alma mater, and we wish him the best moving on to this next chapter of his life,” GSU Director Jesse Skiles said. ”
“I would like to thank Coach Skiles, President Manchin, and the Morris Family for their unwavering support throughout the year,” Caldwell said. “To all of my current and former players, none of this would have been possible without you and I can’t thank you all enough. Lastly, thank you Glenville for giving me a chance, embracing me, and making me one of your own. I’ll be a Glenville fan and cherish the memories forever.”
