D2 Davis & Elkins has issued the statement below on the change of leadership in the men’s basketball program. The release doesn’t mention where former head coach Daniel Mondragon is headed, but he will reportedly become an assistant at Mercer under new head coach Ryan Ridder.
Davis & Elkins College Interim Director of Athletics Jeff Eisen announced on Tuesday that Head Men’s Basketball Coach Daniel Mondragon has resigned, effective April 19. In addition, current Associate Head Coach Daniel Harris was promoted to be the next Head Coach of Senators Basketball.
“Under Dan Mondragon’s leadership, our men’s basketball program has had a tremendous turnaround and experienced success on and off the court. Dan has been a huge asset to the college and the Elkins community,” said Eisen. “Dan Harris has worked closely with Coach Mondragon over the last three years, and, with his passion and knowledge of the game, we are confident that he will build on the solid foundation that has been established.”
Coach Mondragon leaves D&E after five seasons at the helm, with an overall record of 54-77 and 38-62 in conference. The past two seasons, the program has seen more success than ever in history, including achieving the most wins since the 1950’s in 2022-23 (19-11) when Mondragon was tabbed as the Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year. The team also had a winning season in 2023-24 (15-14), their first consecutive winning seasons in 69 years. The team reached the MEC Basketball Tournament each of the past two seasons, earning their first-ever tournament victory in 2023.
“It is bittersweet for me as my time at D&E comes to an end. The last five years have been amazing both personally and professionally. I am forever indebted to President Wood and Jamie Joss, who took a chance on a 28-year-old head coach with no college head coaching experience. I am thankful for all of the administration, the other coaches, the wonderful community of Elkins, and, of course, our staff and our players, who ultimately made this program what it is today,” remarked Mondragon. “I am beyond proud of what we accomplished and am absolutely thrilled that Dan Harris will continue to lead this program to new heights. I have no doubts that he is the right person for the next chapter as he was instrumental in our success the last three seasons. He is as good a human as there is and an absolute superstar of a coach.”
Dan Harris will assume all duties as Head Coach of the program effective April 20. Harris has served as Assistant Coach under Coach Mondragon for the past three seasons. He previously served as Director of Basketball Operations at Lipscomb University (2019-22) and as a Graduate Assistant at Jacksonville University (2017-19). Harris played collegiately at Quinnipiac University, where he was the team captain his senior year.
