Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, HoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following college basketball coaches have been named recipients of the Week 1 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 2025-26 college basketball season.
This marks the eleventh season of the HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The week 1 winners are:
NCAA D1: Tommy Lloyd – University of Arizona
Coach Lloyd’s Wildcats continued their ascension up the rankings this week, picking up their second top-five win of the season already. Arizona opened the season ranked No. 13, but picked up wins over then-No. 3 Florida and No. 15 UCLA to enter the week ranked 4th in the country. This set up a top-five showdown on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats made the cross-country trip to take on 3rd-ranked UConn in Storrs. Arizona was able to pull out a 71-67 victory in a back-and-forth affair, snapping the Huskies’ 36-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents. The win propelled the Wildcats to No. 2 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. Now 5-0 on the season, Arizona will return home to host Denver on Monday night.
NCAA D2: Andre Cook – St. Edward’s University
Coach Cook’s currently unbeaten Hilltoppers capped off a three-win week with a huge victory over one of the top-ranked teams in the nation on Saturday. After two wins at home to begin the week (108-82 over Our Lady of the Lake and 83-60 over Texas A&M International), St. Edward’s hit the road to take on No. 3 Dallas Baptist in a Saturday night showdown. The Hilltoppers jumped out to a 19-point halftime lead and held on for a 73-70 triumph despite a valiant comeback effort by the hosts. Now a perfect 8-0 in the early-going, St. Edward’s heads back home to face off against Arlington Baptist on Monday evening.
NCAA D3: Ron Rose – Illinois Wesleyan University
With three more victories this week, Coach Rose’s Illinois Wesleyan squad improved to a perfect 5-0 on the season. The 16th-ranked Titans opened the week with a top-25 matchup, hosting No. 11 Chicago on Wednesday evening. Illinois Wesleyan came out hot, shooting 66.7% from the field as they built a 12-point halftime lead. The visitors were able to cut the lead to two in the second half, but the Titans were able to hold off the comeback attempt and hang on for a 72-69 win. Illinois Wesleyan then headed to Michigan for the Coach Mike Turner College Classic hosted by Albion over the weekend. The Titans dominated in a pair of victories, taking down Wisconsin Lutheran 97-42 on Friday and Kenyon 89-59 for the title on Saturday. Illinois Wesleyan will almost certainly move up the rankings prior to their next contest – a home matchup against UW-Stout on Saturday, November 29.
NAIA: Taylor Jarvis – Missouri Baptist University
Coach Jarvis guided Missouri Baptist to a pair of conference victories this week as the Spartans continued their torrid start to the season. Missouri Baptist hosted Culver-Stockton on Wednesday, forcing 20 turnovers en route to an 85-68 win. Back in action on Saturday, the Spartans took down Grand View 82-77, improving to 7-0 (3-0 Heart of America) for the first time under Coach Jarvis. Missouri Baptist will look to keep the good times rolling when they close out a four-game homestand with a matchup against William Woods on Tuesday evening.
JUCO: Tae Norwood – Palm Beach State College
It was a week to remember for Coach Norwood, as he picked up his 100th career victory while his Panthers remained unbeaten on the campaign. No. 7 Palm Beach State made the trip from Florida to Kansas for a pair of weekend contests, defeating Neosho County Community College 78-59 on Friday and Fort Scott Community College 72-65 on Saturday. The latter victory marked win No. 100 in Coach Norwood’s career, which includes head-coaching stops at Keiser and Cal Poly – Humboldt. He has compiled an impressive career record of 100-65. His 9-0 Panthers will return home for Thanksgiving before taking another road trip, this time to Arizona, for matchups with Scottsdale Community College and Phoenix College.
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
NCAA DI: Rick Pitino – St. John’s University
NCAA DII: Blake Flickner – Dallas Baptist University
NCAA DIII: Steve Djurickovic – Carthage College
NAIA: Jeff Britt – Bethel University (TN)
JUCO: Brennan McCarthy – Northampton Community College
NCAA DI: Tony Skinn – George Mason University
NCAA DII: Jeremiah Samarrippas – Lincoln Memorial University
NCAA DIII: Dan Kane – University of Maine at Presque Isle
NAIA: Marcus Bryant – Keiser University
JUCO: Darren Stratton – Northern Essex Community College
NCAA DI: Kevin Young – BYU
NCAA DII: Mick Hedgepeth – University of Alabama in Huntsville
NCAA DIII: Donald Morris, Jr. – Framingham State University
NAIA: Mike Hunter – Shawnee State University
JUCO: Tae Norwood – Palm Beach State College
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