For Immediate Release
April 15, 2022
By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Providence College head basketball coach Ed Cooley has been named as the HoopDirt.com NCAA D1 Coach of the Year presented by Just Play Solutions for the 2021-22 college basketball season. Cooley qualified for the award by being named as the HoopDirt.com/Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week for Week 4 of the season.
Under Coach Cooley, Providence exceeded all expectations in what became a historic 2021-22 season. The Friars, picked to finish seventh in the Big East in the preseason coaches’ poll, won the conference’s regular season title for the first time ever this season. Cooley’s squad then entered the NCAA Tournament as a 4-seed, the best in school history, and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in 25 years.
Cooley’s Friars went 27-6 on the campaign, achieving their highest win total since the 1973-74 season. They were ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time since February 2016 this year, reaching as high as No. 8 and finishing the season ranked 13th in the country. Under Cooley’s direction, the Friars played their best basketball in crunch time, going 11-3 in games decided by five or fewer points.
For his efforts this season, Cooley was named as the Big East Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. He was also recognized on the national level, earning the prestigious Naismith Coach of the Year award. In his 11 seasons with Providence, Cooley has posted a record of 221-141 (.611).
Previous Coach of the Year recipients can be found below, as well as all of this season’s Coach of the Week winners.
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2021-22: Ed Cooley – Providence College
- 2020-21: Dennis Gates – Cleveland State University
- 2019-20: Joe Gallo – Merrimack College
- 2018-19: Kelvin Sampson – University of Houston
- 2017-18: Porter Moser – Loyola University Chicago
- 2016-17: Chris Collins – Northwestern University
- 2015-16: Roy Williams – University of North Carolina
Division II
- 2021-22: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
- 2020-21: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2019-20: Fred Watson – Miles College
- 2018-19: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2017-18: Andy Bronkema – Ferris State
- 2016-17: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2015-16: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University
Division III
- 2021-22: Brian Baptiste – UMass Dartmouth
- 2020-21: Brooks Miller – Trine University
- 2019-20: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University
- 2018-19: Dale Wellman – Nebraska Wesleyan University
- 2017-18: Eric Bridgeland – Whitman College
- 2016-17: Stephen Brennan – Babson College
- 2015-16: John Tauer – University of St. Thomas
NAIA
- 2021-22: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University New Orleans
- 2020-21: Delano Thomas – Shawnee State University
- 2019-20: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
- 2018-19: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College
- 2017-18: Craig Doty – Graceland University
- 2016-17: Kevin Burton – Union College
- 2015-16: Larry Cordaro – LSU-Alexandria
JUCO
- 2021-22: Greg Heiar – Northwest Florida State
- 2020-21: COVID Season – No winner selected
- 2019-20: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
- 2018-19: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College
- 2017-18: Paul Cisek – Brookdale Community College
- 2016-17: Todd Lorensen – Southwestern Community College
- 2015-16: Craig Doty – Rock Valley College
USCAA
- 2018-19: LeShawn Hammett – Penn State Wilkes-Barre
2021-22 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Gerald Gillion – Chicago State University
NCAA DII: Jeff Brookman – Anderson University
NCAA DIII: Rich Sutter – Westfield State University
NAIA: Kurt Paulson – Carroll College
JUCO: Jeremy Shulman – Eastern Florida State College
NCAA DI: Lamont Paris – Chattanooga
NCAA DII: Bart Lundy – Queens University of Charlotte
NCAA DIII: Chris Carideo – Widener University
NAIA: Chris Wright – Talladega College
JUCO: Allen Sharpe – Wallace State Community College
NCAA DI: T.J. Otzelberger – Iowa State
NCAA DII: Todd Duncan – Lubbock Christian University
NCAA DIII: Jeff Brown – Middlebury College
NAIA: Tigh Compton – University of Pikeville
JUCO: Hank Plona – Indian Hills Community College
NCAA DI: Ed Cooley – Providence College
NCAA DII: Greg Clink – Cal State Chico
NCAA DIII: Tim Fusina – Waynesburg University
NAIA: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University New Orleans
JUCO: Kyle Taylor – Salt Lake Community College
NCAA DI: Kevin Willard – Seton Hall University
NCAA DII: Jason Taylor – Newberry College
NCAA DIII: Scott Coval – DeSales University
NAIA: Alfred Williams – Xavier University of Louisiana
JUCO: Jake Williams – Dodge City Community College
NCAA DI: Speedy Claxton – Hofstra University
NCAA DII: Justin Weick – University of Minnesota Duluth
NCAA DIII: Raul Placeres – Maryville College
NAIA: Brandon Espinosa – Paul Quinn College
JUCO: Bill Beilein – Niagara County CC
NCAA DI: Jerry Stackhouse – Vanderbilt University
NCAA DII: D2 winter break – no games played
NCAA DIII: Jimmy Smith – Trinity College (TX)
NAIA: Not enough games played (winter break + COVID cancellations)
JUCO: Not enough games played (winter break + COVID cancellations)
NCAA DI: Scott Drew – Baylor University
NCAA DII: Shawn Walker – Elizabeth City State University
NCAA DIII: Ron Rose – Illinois Wesleyan University
NAIA: Colby Blaine – The College of Idaho
JUCO: Brandon Giles – Polk State College
NCAA DI: Jim Larrañaga – University of Miami
NCAA DII: Vinay Patel – Northwestern Oklahoma State University
NCAA DIII: Todd McGuinness – Case Western Reserve University
NAIA: Lance Von Vogt – William Jessup University
JUCO: Greg Heiar – Northwest Florida State College
NCAA DI: Dana Altman – University of Oregon
NCAA DII: Craig Doty – Emporia State University
NCAA DIII: Pat Juckem – Washington University in St. Louis
NAIA: Preston Ingram – Missouri Baptist University
JUCO: Bill Morosco – Garden City CC
NCAA DI: Chris Victor – Seattle University
NCAA DII: George Suggs – McKendree University
NCAA DIII: Ryan Mee – Vassar College
NAIA: Matt O’Brien – Southwestern College
JUCO: Victor Correa – Suffolk County CC
NCAA DI: Bruce Pearl – Auburn University
NCAA DII: Bob Pietrack – Fort Lewis College
NCAA DIII: Don Friday – Penn State Harrisburg
NAIA: Kyle Blankenship – LSU Shreveport
JUCO: Mike Hunter – Lakeland CC
NCAA DI: LeVelle Moton – North Carolina Central University
NCAA DII: Matt Healing – Pace University
NCAA DIII: Brian Baptiste – UMass Dartmouth
NAIA: Stan Holt – Presentation College
JUCO: Brennan McCarthy – Northampton CC
NCAA DI: Matt McMahon – Murray State
NCAA DII: Clark Sheehy – Southwest Baptist University
NCAA DIII: Brandon Linton – Tufts University
NAIA: Donnie Bostwick – Oklahoma Wesleyan University
JUCO: Brent Wilson – SUNY Sullivan
NCAA DI: Mark Adams – Texas Tech
NCAA DII: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas
NCAA DIII: Abe Woldeslassie – Macalester College
NAIA: Javier Heridia – Indiana University Northwest
JUCO: Ryan Miley – Hocking College
NCAA DI: Randy Bennett – Saint Mary’s College
NCAA DII: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern University
NCAA DIII: Brock Erickson – Nichols College
NAIA: Kevin Burton -Union College
JUCO: Chris Neely – Monroe College-Bronx
About HoopDirt.com
HoopDirt.com is the largest website in the country dedicated specifically to college basketball coaching news, jobs, and rumors at all levels. HoopDirt.com brings a unique insider perspective to the world of college basketball coaching – it was founded by college coaches as a way to help the college basketball community stay informed of what is going on in the coaching profession. HoopDirt.com currently has a Twitter following of over 51,000, and receives nearly three-million page views per month.
About Just Play Solutions
Just Play Solutions has become the market leader in coaches’ workflow. A platform to help coaches prepare playbooks, automate scouting reports, research analytics, integrate and distribute video, manage recruiting workflow, and organize recruiting schedules. The end-to-end platform is used by over 700 customers across the country and internationally in football, basketball, and lacrosse.
