Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, HoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following college basketball coaches have been named recipients of the Week 11 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week Award, presented by Just Play Solutions. These coaches are now eligible for the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award, also presented by Just Play Solutions, which will be announced at the end of the 2024-25 college basketball season.
This marks the tenth season of the HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list of 2024-25 weekly winners, as well as the all-time COY recipients can be found below this week’s release.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The week 11 winners are:
NCAA D1: Pat Kelsey – University of Louisville
Coach Kelsey guided Louisville to another pair of ACC wins this week as his Cardinals have already surpassed their previous two seasons’ combined win total. Louisville opened the week with a dominant performance at Syracuse, winning 85-61 and snapping a four-game losing streak to the Orange. The win marked No. 13 on the campaign for the Cardinals, who went a combined 12-52 in the last two seasons before Coach Kelsey arrived. Back at home on Saturday, Louisville defeated Virginia 81-67, completing a season sweep against the Cavaliers for the first time in 10 years. Now 14-5 (7-1 ACC) on the season, the Cardinals found themselves in the AP Top-25 Poll for the first time since January of 2021 as they came in at No. 25 in the latest rankings. They will look for their ninth consecutive victory when they travel to take on SMU on Tuesday night.
NCAA D2: Mike MacDonald – Daemen University
Another week, another pair of double-digit victories for Coach MacDonald’s Wildcats, who remain undefeated on the campaign. No. 2 Daemen began its week on Thursday, out-rebounding D’Youville 50-27 en route to a 88-56 home triumph. Returning to action on Saturday, the Wildcats hosted 21st-ranked Gannon, who entered the matchup riding a 15-game winning streak. Daemen led by as many as 22 in an 82-70 victory, marking the 15th time in 16 games that the Wildcats won by double-digits. Now 16-0 (7-0 ECC) on the season, Daemen will hit the road to take Roberts Wesleyan in their next contest on Saturday.
NCAA D3: Brandon Linton – Tufts University
Coach Linton led Tufts to two more impressive road wins this week, extending the Jumbos’ perfect start in NESCAC play. No. 9 Tufts trailed Williams by 10 early in the first half on Friday, but used a 37-5 run to pull away and eventually take a 59-46 victory. At Middlebury the following day, the Jumbos led by as many as 26 en route to a 77-57 triumph. The win moved Tufts to 16-2 overall and 4-0 in the NESCAC – both firsts since the 2016-17 season. Additionally, the Jumbos are an impressive 9-0 on the road this year. They will look to keep it rolling when they host Connecticut College on Saturday.
NAIA: Jordan Ashton – William Woods University
Coach Ashton’s Owls continued to make history this week, as they extended their program-record winning streak to 10 games. On Thursday, No. 22 William Woods took an 82-60 victory over Missouri Baptist, marking their largest margin of victory ever at MBU. Returning home to face off against Mission on Saturday, the Owls closed the first half on a 34-7 run across the final nine minutes and never looked back en route to a 99-58 win. Now 15-2 (7-1 AMC) on the season, William Woods will take on No. 17 Central Baptist in a top-25 matchup on Thursday.
JUCO: Pete Pena – Pensacola State College
Coach Pena’s squad picked up two big victories this week, winning a thriller and taking down a top-10 opponent. On the road at Tallahassee State to open the week, the Pirates erased an early 13-point deficit and managed to hold on late to come away with a hard-fought 74-72 victory. Pensacola State then headed home for a showdown with No. 8 Northwest Florida State on Saturday. The Pirates jumped out to a 33-17 halftime lead and never looked back, picking up a huge 63-56 win. Now 15-6 on the year, the Pirates will look for their fifth straight victory when they take on Gulf Coast State on Saturday.
2024-25 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
Week 1
Early season – no winners selected.
NCAA DI: Bill Self – Kansas
NCAA DII: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
NCAA DIII: Steve Schweer – Illinois College
NAIA: Tony Romero – Central Christian College
JUCO: Hunter Jenkins – Frank Phillips College
NCAA DI: Ben McCollum – Drake University
NCAA DII: Justin Namolik – Shepherd University
NCAA DIII: B.J. Dunne – Gettysburg College
NAIA: Steve Drabyn – Bethel University (IN)
JUCO: Kyle Pugh – Cloud County Community College
NCAA DI: Bruce Pearl – Auburn University
NCAA DII: Ben Wilkins – Seton Hill University
NCAA DIII: Chris Bartley – Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NAIA: Tigh Compton – University of Pikeville
JUCO: Joey Cantens – Daytona State College
NCAA DI: Dennis Gates – University of Missouri
NCAA DII: Michael Lamberti – Coker University
NCAA DIII: Kent Dernbach – University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
NAIA: Clint Galyean – Wayland Baptist University
JUCO: Cole Dewey – Indian Hills Community College
NCAA DI: Anthony Grant – University of Dayton
NCAA DII: Matt Healing – Pace University
NCAA DIII: Jesse DeLoof – University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
NAIA: Brian Van Haaften – Dordt University
JUCO: Luke Mackay – New Mexico Junior College
Week 7
Winter Break – No winners selected
Week 8
Winter Break – No winners selected
NCAA DI: Chris Crutchfield – University of Nebraska Omaha
NCAA DII: Bill Walker – Missouri University of Science and Technology
NCAA DIII: John Krikorian – Christopher Newport University
NAIA: Bill Dreikosen – Rocky Mountain College
JUCO: Andrew May – Snow College
Week 10
NCAA DI: Mike White – University of Georgia
NCAA DII: Easton Bazzoli – Gannon University
NCAA DIII: Michael McSloy – Drew University
NAIA: Jesse McClung – Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
JUCO: Kyle Isaacs – Arizona Western College
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2022-23: Jerome Tang – Kansas State University
- 2021-22: Ed Cooley – Providence College
- 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
- 2023-24:
- 2022-23: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
- 2021-22: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
- 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
- 2022-23: John Krikorian – Christopher Newport University
- 2021-22: Brian Baptiste – UMass Dartmouth
- 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
- 2022-23: Chris Wright – Langston University
- 2021-22: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University New Orleans
- 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
- 2022-23: Rick Cabrera – Tallahassee Community College
- 2021-22: Greg Heiar – Northwest Florida State
- 2020-21: COVID Season – No winner selected
- 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.
