Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, HoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following college basketball coaches have been named recipients of the Week 9 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 season marks the eleventh year of the HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. This week’s winners are listed below, followed by all previous weekly honorees from earlier in the season.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The week 9 winners are:
NCAA D1: Grant McCasland – Texas Tech University
Coach McCasland’s Red Raiders extended their winning streak to three with a pair of impressive wins this past week, including a thrilling come-from-behind victory over a tough opponent. Then-No. 15 Texas Tech opened the week with an 88-74 home win over Utah on Wednesday, shooting 13-31 (41.9%) from three and outrebounding the visitors 41-28. Back in action on Saturday, the Red Raiders found themselves trailing then-No. 11 BYU by nine points with just over eight minutes remaining in the contest. A Texas Tech three at the 8:09 mark would spark a 32-10 run over the final eight minutes to propel the Red Raiders to an improbable 84-71 victory. Now 14-4 (4-1 Big 12) on the season and ranked No. 12 in the latest AP Top-25 Poll, Texas Tech will next visit Baylor for a Tuesday night showdown.
NCAA D2: Blake Mellinger – UVA Wise
Coach Mellinger guided UVA Wise to its highest ranked win in the program’s NCAA DII history this past week as the Cavaliers improved to 14-4 (7-3 SAC) on the season. On Wednesday, UVA Wise held Tusculum to just 31.3% from the field in a 79-66 home victory to pick up some momentum before Saturday’s showdown with 4th-ranked Anderson. Despite trailing by as many as 10 in the first half, the Cavaliers were able to come away with a 73-67 win, handing the visitors their first loss of the season. Following the impressive showing, UVA Wise will now hit the road for matchups with Lincoln Memorial and Wingate on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.
NCAA D3: James Cosgrove – Trinity College
Another week, another pair of wins for Coach Cosgrove’s top-ranked Trinity squad as their perfect season continues on. The Bantams kicked off play this past week with a 75-67 victory over Amherst on Friday night. Remarkably, the eight-point margin of victory was Trinity’s second smallest across their 16 wins this season. Returning to the floor less than 24 hours later, the Bantams outscored Hamilton 34-6 in the paint en route to a 77-48 triumph. With the wins, Trinity improved to 16-0 (4-0 NESCAC) on the campaign. The Bantams will continue to defend their No. 1 ranking when they host Western New England in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday evening.
NAIA: Greg Tonagel – Indiana Wesleyan University
Coach Tonagel led his Wildcats to their second top-three victory of the season this past week as Indiana Wesleyan improved to 16-3 on the campaign. On Wednesday, the 11th-ranked Wildcats shot 55.7% (34-61) from the field and 50% (11-22) from three in a 91-64 road win over Marian. Remaining on the road for a Saturday afternoon showdown against No. 3 Bethel, Indiana Wesleyan was able to stay hot offensively, picking up a huge 96-86 victory that was aided by stellar free throw shooting (18/19 – 94.7%). Indiana Wesleyan has now played teams ranked No. 1, 2, and 3 in the NAIA Top 25 Poll at the time of each matchup, defeating then-No. 2 Arizona Christian in December and losing to No. 1 Grace on January 10. The Wildcats will close out their three game road trip with a matchup against Goshen on Saturday.
JUCO: Kyle Pugh – Cloud County Community College
Coach Pugh’s squad stayed hot this past week, picking up another pair of victories to extend their winning streak to five. The T-Birds began their week on Wednesday with an impressive 112-87 victory over No. 19 Butler Community College that saw a season-high seven different players score in double figures. Back in action on Saturday, Cloud County out-rebounded Independence Community College 55-35 in a 94-64 triumph. Following a six game losing streak across parts of November and December, the T-Birds have turned things around, winning five straight games and scoring at least 87 points in each one. Now 11-7 on the season, they will look to keep it rolling when they travel to take on Seward County Community College on Wednesday night.
2025-26 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Tommy Lloyd – University of Arizona
NCAA DII: Andre Cook – St. Edward’s University
NCAA DIII: Ron Rose – Illinois Wesleyan University
NAIA: Taylor Jarvis – Missouri Baptist University
JUCO: Tae Norwood – Palm Beach State College
NCAA DI: Dusty May – University of Michigan
NCAA DII: Keffrey Fazio – Seattle Pacific University
NCAA DIII: Waleed Farid – New York University
NAIA: Tigh Compton – University of Pikeville
JUCO: Jerry Nichols – Walters State Community College
NCAA DI: Jon Scheyer – Duke University
NCAA DII: Brent Owen – Lenoir-Rhyne University
NCAA DIII: Dean Burrows – Mississippi University for Women
NAIA: Frank Woodford – Benedictine University – Mesa
JUCO: Bryan Bender – Ellsworth Community College
NCAA DI: Frank Martin – University of Massachusetts – Amherst
NCAA DII: Mike MacDonald – Daemen University
NCAA DIII: Anthony Medina – University of St. Thomas (TX)
NAIA: Kevin Williamson – Dakota State University
JUCO: Joey Cantens – Daytona State College
NCAA DI: Chris Victor – Seattle University
NCAA DII: Easton Bazzoli – Gannon University
NCAA DIII: Eric Bridgeland – University of Redlands
NAIA: Scott Moore – Grace College
JUCO: Andrew May – Snow College
Week 6
Winter Break – No Winners Selected
Week 7
Winter Break – No Winners Selected
NCAA DI: Travis Steele – Miami University (OH)
NCAA DII: Bryan Rooney – California State University, East Bay
NCAA DIII: Jeff Gard – University of Wisconsin – Platteville
NAIA: Leonard Epps – Brewton-Parker Christian University
JUCO: Andrew May – Blake Sandquist – Des Moines Area Community College
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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.
