Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, HoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following college basketball coaches have been named recipients of the Week 14 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 14 winners are:
NCAA D1: Rick Pitino – St. John’s University
Coach Pitino guided St. John’s to a pair of wins over ranked opponents this week, continuing the Johnnies dominant run in conference play. The 12th-ranked Red Storm opened the week with a hard-fought 70-64 victory over No. 11 Marquette at the Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. With the win, St. John’s moved to 20-3 on the season, marking the fastest that the Johnnies have reached 20 wins since the 1985-86 season. Additionally, the victory improved the Red Storm to 11-1 in the Big East for the first time 1984-85. St. John’s schedule did not let up after the victory, as the Red Storm hit the road to close out the week with a matchup against No. 19 UConn. The Johnnies trailed by as many as 14, but fought back to pick up their second top-20 win of the week for the first time since 2018 with a 68-62 triumph. Now 21-3 (12-1 Big East) on the season, St. John’s will look to extend its winning streak to 11 when it takes on Villanova on the road on Wednesday.
NCAA D2: Blake Flickner – Dallas Baptist University
Coach Flickner’s squad won two more games this week, taking over first place in the Lone Star Conference and making program history in the process. The No. 6 Patriots defeated St. Edward’s 85-74 on the road on Thursday, improving to 22-3 for the first time in program history. The win set up a showdown for first place in the LSC, as Dallas Baptist next traveled to take on then-conference leader No. 25 St. Mary’s on Saturday. The Patriots trailed by seven at the half, but outscored the hosts by 19 across the final 20 minutes to take an 80-68 victory and jump into first place in the LSC. Now 23-3 (15-2 LSC) on the season, Dallas Baptist will return home to take on Texas A&M International on Thursday.
NCAA D3: Steve Djurickovic – Carthage College
Coach Djurickovic’s Firebirds had a huge week, taking down the No. 2 team in the nation and jumping into first place in the CCIW. Carthage began the week with an 84-75 victory at Carroll, setting up Saturday’s home matchup with No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan to be for the conference lead. The Firebirds were able to pull away in the second half to come out with an 85-74 triumph, completing the season sweep over the visitors and moving into first place in the CCIW. Now 16-5 (10-2 CCIW) on the season, Carthage will hit the road to take on North Central on Wednesday night.
NAIA: Jeff Britt – Bethel University (TN)
Coach Britt led Bethel to a pair of victories this week, including one over the top-ranked team in the nation. The Wildcats found themselves trailing Cumberland by six at halftime on Thursday, but outscored the hosts 54-39 across the second half to come away with a 91-82 triumph. Bethel then returned home to close out the week with a matchup against No. 1 Freed-Hardeman. The Wildcats led by as many as 18 in the contest and managed to hold off a fierce comeback attempt by the visitors, picking up a huge 74-72 victory. With the win, Bethel improved to 16-8 (4-5 MSC) on the season. The Wildcats will look to extend their winning streak to five when they host Campbellsville on Thursday.
JUCO: Brennan McCarthy – Northampton Community College
It was a week to remember for Coach McCarthy, as his Spartans won three games, including two comeback victories and a milestone win over a ranked opponent. Northampton opened the week on the road against RCSJ – Gloucester, using a strong second half to pull in front and never look back in an 80-68 victory. The Spartans then returned home, defeating No. 5 Montgomery County Community College 69-54 on Thursday. The win marked No. 200 in Coach McCarthy’s career. As his squad closed out the week with an 89-88 come-from-behind victory over Atlantic Cape Community College, Coach McCarthy’s career record now sits at an impressive 201-81. His Spartans will look to improve upon their 20-4 record when they hit the road to take on Lehigh Carbon Community College on Tuesday night.
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
Week 11
NCAA DI: Pat Kelsey – University of Louisville
NCAA DII: Mike MacDonald – Daemen University
NCAA DIII: Brandon Linton – Tufts University
NAIA: Jordan Ashton – William Woods University
JUCO: Pete Pena – Pensacola State College
NCAA DI: Daniyal Robinson – Cleveland State University
NCAA DII: Brent Owen – Lenoir-Rhyne University
NCAA DIII: Jean Bain – Brandeis University
NAIA: Josh Gamblin – Mid-America Christian University
JUCO: Brian Peabody – Pima Community College
NCAA DI: Jerome Tang – Kansas State University
NCAA DII: Brett Ballard – Washburn University
NCAA DIII: Joe Reilly – Wesleyan University
NAIA: Delton Deal – Nelson University
JUCO: Matt Lynch – University of South Carolina Salkehatchie
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.
