Associate Head Coach Josh Buettner has been elevated to Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Michigan Tech, following the retirement of Kevin Luke on Thursday (Apr. 15). Buettner becomes the 12th head coach in program history, effective immediately.
“Coach Buettner has the playing, coaching, and recruiting experience to lead our men’s basketball program,” Michigan Tech Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret said. “Over the past 13 years, he has demonstrated the core values that we look for in coaches at Michigan Tech with loyalty, passion, integrity, tradition, teamwork, and a commitment to academic and athletic success. I am very excited to work with Josh and confident that he will continue the tradition of excellence.”
“I am honored to be named the Head Coach of the Michigan Tech men’s basketball program,” Buettner said. “I would like to thank Dr. Sanregret for giving me the opportunity to lead this team that I care so deeply about. I’m excited to work to continue the standards and success that Coach Luke has built. We have a terrific group of young men, and we will work to have a team that will make the university, alumni, and community proud.”
Buettner was appointed Associate Head Coach prior to the start of the 2020-21 season and served the last 13 seasons as Assistant Coach after taking the position in July 2008. He has been the chief recruiter for the Huskies, responsible for bringing in top talent, which has included five All-Americans and seven All-GLIAC First Team selections.
A Shawano, Wisconsin native, Buettner began as a star student-athlete at Michigan Tech, playing for the Huskies from 2001-05 as a power forward/center. He is a two-time All-American and earned GLIAC Player of the Year honors his junior and senior seasons. Buettner finished his collegiate career third on Tech’s all-time scoring chart with 2,061 points.
Kevin Luke added, “I’m very excited for Coach Buettner. He will be an excellent head coach. I’m looking forward to him continuing and building on the program’s successes!”
Following graduation, Buettner played professionally in Europe for three years in leagues in Denmark, Switzerland, and Iceland, and was named the Danish Elite League Player of the Year in his second pro campaign. He also spent a year coaching high school-aged players on skill development in Svendborg, Denmark.
As the Assistant Coach, Buettner has helped the Huskies to four GLIAC North Division conference titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances. The Huskies have had seven All-GLIAC First-Team honorees, five GLIAC Players of the Year, five All-Americans, and two Academic All-Americans.
In addition to his coaching duties at Tech, Buettner teaches classes in the Kinesiology and Integrated Physiology Department.
Tech won the GLIAC North Division in 2021 with a 12-6 conference record and 15-8 overall mark. The Huskies tied the deepest postseason run in program history by defeating Southern Indiana in the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament in Evansville, Indiana before falling to Truman State 65-62 in the Regional Championship in March.
https://www.michigantechhuskies.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/releases/20210416d84don
