The Mayville State Comets have announced that they have hired Ridgewater Community College Head Coach Darren Tighe as their new Men’s Basketball Coach.
Coach Tighe on his new opportunity – “My family and I are thrilled to be joining the Mayville State University family! I want to thank Athletic Director Mike Moore, President Dr. Gary Hagen, the search committee, and the entire comet athletic staff. Once I was able to step on campus, it did not take long to figure out that Mayville State is a special place with first class people! The opportunity to become the head coach at such a prestigious academic university with a rich basketball tradition was too good to pass up. My family and I are looking forward to moving to North Dakota and becoming ingrained in the community. We are extremely excited to begin the process of building a championship culture with the men’s basketball program at Mayville State University!”
Coach Tighe graduated from Minnesota State University Mankato with a Bachelors Degree in English Studies. He also received his Master’s Degree in Teaching from Minnesota State University Mankato. From 2007-11, Coach Tighe worked with the men’s basketball program at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN under Head Coach Rick Jeddeloh. Coach Tighe worked his way up the coaching ranks from 2nd assistant his first two years to head assistant in 2010, then to Associate Head Men’s Basketball Coach in 2011. During that time, he helped the Vikings reach the conference tournament all four years along with a Conference Championship appearance in 2009. Coach Tighe’s responsibilities at Bethany included serving as the recruiting coordinator, head of the tape exchange program, Point Guard and Defensive Coach, as well as leading the individual skill development program. He also assisted with opponent scouting reports and was the summer assistant camp coordinator.
After Bethany, Coach Tighe spent some time in the high school ranks, as he served as the Head Coach at JWP High School. He then taught and coached two years at Redwood Valley High School, where he helped the Cardinals to a State Tournament appearance in 2013 and a section runner up finish in 2014. At this time, Coach Tighe accepted the Head Coach position at Ridgewater Community College In Willmar, MN.
In his inaugural season with the Warriors, Coach Tighe helped lead Ridgewater to a 9-18 record. He coached All Conference Selection Dylan Schueler (Willmar, MN) as well as six members of the MCAC All Conference Academic Team. Year two of the Tighe era saw the Warriors etch their names in the Ridgewater record books. The team set school records for most regular season wins in school history (20) and tied the record for most wins in a season (22) with the 1965 Warrior Basketball team. The 22 wins was more than the last two seasons combined for the Warrior basketball program. The 22-8 record was even more impressive as the MCAC was as tough as ever hosting the #2, #3, and #4th ranked teams in the nation. Six of the team’s eight losses came to nationally ranked teams or D1 junior colleges. Seven freshmen averaged double digit minutes this season. Akeem Oglesby (Statesboro, GA) and Jack Turnbull (Adelaide, South Australia) were named to the MCAC All Southern Division Team and the All MCAC team. Oglesby was also named to the All Region 13 team as well as being named the Region 13 player of the year. Oglesby was also awarded the honor of being named 2nd team All American. The Ridgewater men’s basketball team had another quality year under the 2016-17 season, as they finished 17-8 with program building wins over nationally recognized RCTC, Central Lakes, and St. Cloud Tech. The Warriors once again relied on outside shooting and were ranked 2nd, 4th, and 9th in the nation in three pt field goals made, attempted, and percentage. Ridgewater averaged 82 PPG and gave up an MCAC Southern Division Low 70 PPG. Another Ridgewater trademark of taking care of and sharing the basketball shown bright in 2017 with the Warriors ranking 14th in the nation in assists per game (18.8) and 7th in the nation in turnovers per game (10.6). Oglesby again continued his historic Ridgewater career earning MCAC All Southern Division honors, All State MCAC Honors, as well as making the All Region Team.
Athletic Director Mike Moore on Coach Tighe’s hire – “We are excited to have Darren as our new head men’s bb coach. During the interview process Darren showed a great deal of compassion and drive in regard to this position. His experience as a head coach and experience particularly at the junior college level has him to come in and re-energize our program quickly. He made a definite connection with the search committee and our current players and I’m confident he will do the same with Mayville-Portland and the surrounding communities. He and his family will be a great fit for our setting. It was evident during the process that building relationships is a priority for him. We anticipate him starting his duties in the next few days.”
