Huntington University head coach Ty Platt announced the hiring of Josh Riikonen as an assistant coach for the Forester men’s basketball program.

Riikonen comes to HU after spending several years as a high school varsity assistant coach with his most recent stint at Huntington North High School. He has also coached at Jay County and East Noble in addition to spending the last three years with the Indy Heat AAU program based out of Fort Wayne, Ind.

“We are extremely excited to be adding Josh Riikonen to our coaching staff,” said Coach Platt. “Josh was a very good player in our league, has a passion for teaching the game of basketball and has experience in developing players on an off the court. He will fit in extremely well with our program.”

A native of Elkhart, Ind., Riikonen was a four-year letter winner at Taylor University where he accumulated over 800 points and 600 rebounds as a power forward for the Trojans.

“I am excited to be joining the staff here at Huntington University,” said Riikonen. “Coach Platt has a proven track record of being successful and I am excited to dive into the college game and maintain the standard of excellence set here.

“After playing in the Crossroads League, it is thrilling to return to the league on the sidelines this time around. I am very appreciative of the opportunity to begin this journey here.”

Riikonen graduated from Taylor in 2014 with a degree in Social Studies Education. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Ball State University while teaching AP Psychology at Huntington North High School. He resides in Fort Wayne, Ind.

The Huntington University Foresters compete in 17 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 38 NAIA All-America honors and 274 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.

https://www.huntington.edu/news/riikonen-named-assistant-mens-basketball-coach