The Peru State athletic department recently announced that they will be taking the interim tag off and naming Roman Gentry as full time head coach of the Peru State men’s basketball program.
Gentry has the Bobcats playing at a high level as they have finished the regular season 22-6 overall and 17-5 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. The 17 wins is tied for most Heart Conference wins along with the 2015-16 season.
The Bobcats have secured the No. 2 seed in the Heart Conference Tournament and will face off against No. 7 seed Graceland on Thursday, February 23, in the Al Wheeler Activity Center. Tip-Off is set for 7:00 p.m.
Peru State has faced Graceland twice this season coming away with two wins. The first on January 4, a one-point victory over the Yellowjackets 81-80 in Lamoni, Iowa. The second a 13-point home victory 85-72 at home on January 28.
Gentry is from Sioux City, Iowa and graduated from the University of South Dakota. Gentry has eight years of coaching experience at the NCAA level between DI and DII.
Peru State also has a strong chance at qualifying for the NAIA National Tournament this March.
Here’s what athletic director Wayne Albury said about the hire…
“We couldn’t be happier to have Roman as our head coach, we think he is a great fit for our program and has already been doing a fantastic job,” said Albury.
Gentry was previously at the University of South Dakota as an assistant coach for the 2021-22 season. The Coyotes were 19-12 overall last season with an 11-7 record in the Summit League.
While at his alma mater, he coached four All-Summit League players in Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Mason Archambault (2nd Team), Tasos Kamateros (Honorable Mention) and Boogie Anderson (All-Defensive Team).
Here’s what coach Gentry had to say about the hire…
“I am very excited about the opportunity to lead the men’s basketball program here at Peru State College. I would like to thank athletic director Wayne Albury and President Evans for believing in me and having the confidence in me as their next men’s basketball coach,” said coach Gentry.
Coach Gentry continued…
“My staff and I will work extremely hard to keep Peru State on its current path of competing every night in the highly competitive Heart of America conference. I look forward to the challenges of building a championship caliber program on and off the court.”
Before his most recent stint at USD, he was an assistant coach at Concordia St. Paul (Minn.) from 2014-2021 in the Northern Sun Conference.
While at CSP, he helped lead the Golden Bears to a conference tournament berth every year except one. In his first season with the team, he helped them to a 19-11 record. He also coached four players whom earned All-NSIC Honors and 12 student-athletes who earned NSIC All-Academic Honors.
Gentry was a former player for USD where he averaged 17.6 ppg and was First Team All-Great West.
INTERIM TAG REMOVED: Gentry named Head Basketball Coach at Peru State
