OUAZ head men’s basketball coach Matt Keeley announced the promotion of Adam Hepker to Associate Head Coach. Hepker has been the top assistant to Keeley since the program started in 2017.
“Adam has been supremely important to our program as we continue the process of building into a program that can compete nationally,” Keeley said. “There is not a single part of it that he does not impact. He is a basketball savant and we are so fortunate to have him. His value to me as a co-worker and friend is immense. He is so deserving of this title change and it’s my opinion that NAIA ADs should have him at the top of their list for head coach openings in the near future.”
OUAZ has won 44 games during Hepker’s four seasons on the Spirit bench. He was the acting head coach in the Spirit’s 96-68 upset of ninth-ranked The Master’s in January and he helped game plan for three wins over nationally-ranked teams during the 2019-20 season, including a road win at No. 7 The Master’s that snapped the Mustangs 47-game home-court winning streak.
Hepker is no stranger to the NAIA having spent 14 seasons as a coach or a player within the national organization. During that time, Hepker teams have reached the NAIA National Championship eight times.
Hepker came to Surprise after two seasons as an assistant coach at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. That was preceded by five years as an assistant coach at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas.
Hepker promoted to Associate Head Coach at OUAZ
