BOSTON, MA – HoopDirt.com and Just Play Solutions have announced that they will once again team up to present college basketball’s Coach of the Week Award. The awards program will culminate with the 2020-21 Coach of the Year honors which will be announced in March. This will be the sixth season that HoopDirt.com will recognize coaches weekly at the DI, DII, DIII, NAIA, and Junior College levels for their accomplishments. Each weekly winner is eligible to receive the Coach of the Year Award (previous winners can be found below).
This season will be a bit different however. As college basketball adjusts to life with COVID, so will we. Not every level will be honored on a weekly basis – we will honor as many of the levels as possible provided enough games are played. It’s different than in the past, but we still hope to have enough weekly winners at each level to name a Coach of the Year (NCAA DI, D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCO) at the end of the season
“I am thrilled that Just Play Solutions is returning as our partner for the Coach of the Week award program” said HoopDirt.com’s Adam Nelson. “One of the goals of HoopDirt.com has always been to help coaches. By exposing them to a quality product and to the unbelievable staff of Just Play Solutions, I feel that we are doing our job by making it easier for coaches to do theirs. On a personal note, I’ve seen Just Play grow from less than 5 NCAA DI teams to close to 200 in 4 years. It’s not surprising knowing how beneficial their platform is to coaching staffs, especially given the unique needs of 2020. Like us, they truly care about coaches, and advancing the game, and I am excited to continue to grow our partnership with this major player in the sports technology world.”
Austin Barone founder of Just Play Solutions, “Adam and his staff have been great partners for us over the years. The Coach of the Week award has become a staple and we’re excited to be part of that process.”
The first Coach of the Week winners will be announced on Monday, November 30th, and will continue throughout the 2020-21 season. If you have a coach that you would like to nominate, please email us at [email protected].
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 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
- 2019-20: Fred Watson – Miles College (AL)
- 2018-19: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2017-18: Andy Bronkema – Ferris State (MI)
- 2016-17: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2015-16: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University (TN)
Division III
- 2019-20: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University (NY)
- 2018-19: Dale Wellman – Nebraska Wesleyan University
- 2017-18: Eric Bridgeland – Whitman College (WA)
- 2016-17: Stephen Brennan – Babson College (MA)
- 2015-16: John Tauer – University of St. Thomas (MN)
NAIA
- 2019-20: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
- 2018-19: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College (KY)
- 2017-18: Craig Doty – Graceland University (IA)
- 2016-17: Kevin Burton – Union College (KY)
- 2015-16: Larry Cordaro – LSU-Alexandria
JUCO
- 2019-20: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
- 2018-19: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College (TX)
- 2017-18: Paul Cisek – Brookdale Community College (NJ)
- 2016-17: Todd Lorensen – Southwestern Community College (IA)
- 2015-16: Craig Doty – Rock Valley College (IL)
USCAA
- 2018-19: LeShawn Hammett – Penn State Wilkes-Barre
2019-20 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Walter McCarty – University of Evansville
NCAA DII: Mark Downey – Northeastern State (OK)
NCAA DIII: Josh Merkel – Randolph-Macon College (VA)
NAIA: Kelly Wells – University of Pikeville (KY)
JUCO: Kyle Cooper – Western Texas College
NCAA DI: Tony Bennett – University of Virginia
NCAA DII: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas College (NY)
NCAA DIII: Bosko Djurickovic – Carthage College (WI)
NAIA: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University (LA)
JUCO: Anthony Fletcher – Eastfield College (TX)
NCAA DI: Juwan Howard – University of Michigan
NCAA DII: Matt Healing – Pace University (NY)
NCAA DIII: Keith Bunkenburg – Benedictine University (IL)
NAIA: Todd Lorensen – Mount Marty College (SD)
JUCO: Cole Dewey – Otero Junior College (CO)
NCAA DI: LaVall Jordan – Butler University
NCAA DII: Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern College
NCAA DIII: Landry Kosmalski – Swarthmore College (NY)
NAIA: Tae Norwood – Keiser University (FL)
JUCO: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College (TX)
NCAA DI: Ritchie McKay – Liberty University
NCAA DII: Tom Klusman – Rollins College (FL)
NCAA DIII: Dave Niland – Penn State-Behrand
NAIA: Aaron Siebenthall – Ottawa University (KS)
JUCO: Brennan McCarthy – Northampton Community College (PA)
NCAA DI: Steve Forbes – East Tennessee State University
NCAA DII: Damien Blair – West Chester University (PA)
NCAA DIII: Anthony Medina – University of St. Thomas (TX)
NAIA: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
JUCO: Terry Bowe – Lakeland Community College (OH)
NCAA DI: Kelvin Sampson – University of Houston
NCAA DII: DII Winter Break Week – No Winner
NCAA DIII: Pete Moran – John Carroll University (OH)
NAIA: Matt Wilber – Dakota Wesleyan University
JUCO: Eric Murphy – Florida SouthWestern State University
NCAA DI: Brian Dutcher – San Diego State University
NCAA DII: Kyle Gerdeman – Lindenwood University (MO)
NCAA DIII: Jeff Brown – Middlebury College (VT)
NAIA: Patrick Crarey – Washington Adventist University (MD)
JUCO: Luke Strege – Mineral Area College (MO)
NCAA DI: Scott Drew – Baylor University
NCAA DII: Eric Olen – University of California, San Diego
NCAA DIII: Jim Calhoun – University of Saint Joseph (CT)
NAIA: Preston Ingram – Missouri Baptist University
JUCO: Zach Settembre – Tallahassee Community College (FL)
NCAA DI: Nate Oats – University of Alabama
NCAA DII: Bart Lundy – Queens University of Charlotte
NCAA DIII: Jean Bain – Brandeis University (MA)
NAIA: Josh Gamblin – Mid-America Christian University
JUCO: Pat Smith – Moberly Area Community College
NCAA DI: Anthony Grant – University of Dayton
NCAA DII: Matt Majkrzak – Northern Michigan University
NCAA DIII: Damien Strahorn Colby College (ME)
NAIA: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College (KY)
JUCO: Carl Howell – Skagit Valley College (WA)
NCAA DI: Joe Gallo – Merrimack College
NCAA DII: Matt Brock – University of Illinois-Springfield
NCAA DIII: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University (NY)
NAIA: Alfred Williams – Xavier University of Louisiana
JUCO: Kevin O’Connor – Murray State College (OK)
NCAA DI: David Cox – University of Rhode Island
NCAA DII: Mike Helfer – Valdosta State University (GA)
NCAA DIII: Matt Hunter – York College (PA)
NAIA: Austin Hunter – Lewis-Clark State (ID)
JUCO: Matthew St. Croix – Mohawk Valley Community College (NY)
NCAA DI: Richie Riley – University of South Alabama
NCAA DII: Fred Watson – Miles College (AL)
NCAA DIII: Johnny Tauer – University of St. Thomas (MN)
NAIA: Kyle Blankenship – LSU Shreveport
JUCO: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
NCAA DI: Mark Pope Brigham Young University
NCAA DII: David Balza – Palm Beach Atlantic University (FL)
NCAA DIII: Greg Dunne – SUNY Brockport
NAIA: Adam Hiatt – Montana Tech
JUCO: Chris Lovell – Bossier Parrish Community College (LA)
NCAA DI: Keith Dambrot – Duquesne University
NCAA DII: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University (TN)
NCAA DIII: Shiva Senthil – SUNY Canton
NAIA: Scott Sanderson – Faulkner University (AL)
JUCO: Mike Smelkinson – Howard Community College (MD)
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 41,000, 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.
