Following a national search, North Central University (Minn.) has named Dan DeWitt its next head men’s basketball coach. DeWitt, who emerged from a field of 160 applicants for the position, succeeds Jon High, who resigned at the conclusion of the 2018-2019 season following an 11-year run as head coach.
DeWitt has collected a significant array of coaching experiences at various levels, most recently as an assistant at Bethany Lutheran College, a fellow Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) member institution and the league’s regular season and tournament champion in 2017-2018. The Lino Lakes, Minn.-native, who spent his early childhood as a Minneapolis resident, played for basketball coaching legend Don Meyer at Northern State University (NCAA Division II) in Aberdeen, S.D. DeWitt then went on to serve on Tubby Smith’s staff at the University of Minnesota as a graduate assistant for two years before moving on to another assistant coaching role at St. Cloud State University.
DeWitt became a head coach at 26, leading NAIA-Mayville State University (N.D.) for five years from 2012-2017. DeWitt’s teams went 44-41 in his final three seasons, including a 2014-2015 record of 18-11. During his time at the helm of the Comets, DeWitt’s teams posted national top 10 rankings for defensive field goal percentage, defensive three-point field goal percentage, total rebounds, rebounding margin, and rebounds per game. In the classroom, his program featured an NAIA-best seven academic all-Americans in 2016-2017 and two NAIA Scholar-Team Award selections. While DeWitt was at Bethany Lutheran, the Vikings have won an NCAA Division III Tournament game, collected six UMAC postseason awards, and boast the league’s Freshman of the Year award-winner in both years. His St. Cloud State team in 2009-2010 went 20-9, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. At Minnesota, the Gophers advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game and the NCAA Division I national tournament with DeWitt on staff.
From an academic standpoint, DeWitt triple majored in mathematics, finance, and economics at Northern State, earning summa cum laude honors along the way. DeWitt’s master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in sport and exercise science, which also earned him summa cum laude honors, is from the University of Minnesota.
Coach DeWitt hails from a local Twin Cities basketball family. His
father Dave has been the head women’s coach at Anoka-Ramsey Community
College for 14 years. Sister Katie played at Drake University and the
University of Northwestern, where she currently is a member of the
coaching staff, sister Emily played at Saint Mary’s University (Winona,
Minn.), and brother Josh played at Mayville State.
DeWitt is married to Laura (Skog), a former collegiate student-athlete
herself. Together they have two children, Brynlee and Esther.
“Dan’s impressive resume speaks for itself; he has been a part of many quality basketball programs” said NCU Athletics Director Greg Johnson.
“As my administrative team went through this search process, we focused
on finding not only the best candidate from a basketball perspective,
but also the right individual to meet our student-athletes where they’re
at and lead them in their personal faith development and academic
growth. Coach DeWitt certainly fits that job description. While our
current and prospective basketball student-athletes will gain
significant basketball knowledge from him, I believe they will grow even
more as leaders under his tutelage. I’m proud to welcome Dan, his wife
Laura, and their daughters into the North Central family!”
“I would like to extend a huge thank you to athletic director Greg Johnson,
president Scott Hagan, and the rest of the search team for having the
confidence in me to lead this program,” said DeWitt. He continued, “I
would also like to acknowledge all the time and effort that Jon High
invested into this program for over a decade. I am so excited for the
opportunity to be the next head men’s basketball coach at North Central
University. Laura and I are both from the Twin Cities and we couldn’t
imagine a better fit as we have hoped to raise our two daughters close
to family. I believe in the Christ-centered mission of NCU and I am
looking forward to building a basketball program centered on these
values. Being familiar with this great UMAC conference, I know that we
have a challenge ahead of us, but I am ready to get started!”
North Central’s 2019-2020 schedule includes the Rams’ normal slate of 16 UMAC games and nine non-conference contests, which includes a December trip to California to face UC-Santa Cruz and William Jessup University.
DeWitt Timeline:
2017-2019 – Assistant Coach, Bethany Lutheran College (NCAA Division III)
2012-2017 – Head Coach, Mayville State University (NAIA)
2011-2012 – Assistant Coach, St. Cloud State University (NCAA Division II)
2009-2011 – Graduate Assistant Coach, University of Minnesota (NCAA Division I)
2005-2009 – Student-Athlete, Northern State University (NCAA Division II)
https://ncurams.com/news/2019/4/9/dan-dewitt-named-as-new-head-mens-basketball-coach.aspx
