The Avila University Department of Athletics is excited to introduce Tyler Bredehoeft as the next head coach of Avila University’s men’s basketball program.
“I’m excited for Tyler to have the opportunity to take over the Avila University men’s basketball program,” Avila University Director of Athletics Shawn Summe said. “His experience as a basketball coach, as a Kansas City guy, and as a collegiate head coach all made him an ideal candidate for this position. We’re all excited to have Tyler join the Avila University Athletics family.”
“I want to thank Shawn, the administration, and the hiring committee for their assistance through this process and for ultimately selecting me to be the next head coach at Avila,” Bredehoeft said. “I’ve always thought of Avila as a place with great potential, the location is phenomenal. We’ll miss our time at Rock Valley but my wife and I are excited to go back to Kansas City and join a place like Avila that’s embedded in a community that loves college basketball.”
Born and raised in Alma, Missouri, just north of an hour east of the Kansas City metro, Bredehoeft returns to the KC area to become the head coach at Avila after four successful years as the head coach at Rock Valley College, a NJCAA Division II school in Rockford, Illinois. Bredehoeft’s Golden Eagles went 64-35 over his three full seasons at the helm, winning 20 or more games every year.
His successful run in Rockford included withstanding the 2020-21 season that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a trip to the NJCAA Division III Final Four in 2022, and a transition up to Division II in 2022-23, followed by another 20-win season. Bredehoeft’s teams won the NJCAA Region IV championship twice, and he was twice named the regional Coach of the Year.
Prior to his tenure at Rock Valley, Bredehoeft served as an assistant coach at NCAA Division II Emporia State for a season following a successful five-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth. Bredehoeft’s Spires finished in the top four in the KCAC all five years of his tenure, and he helped to coach 12 All-KCAC performers, including Grant Greenberg, who was named a First Team NAIA All-American and the KCAC Player of the Year in 2015.
“I am excited for Tyler to become the new head coach at Avila University! Avila is not only getting an elite head coach, they are getting an elite teacher, husband, and human being,” said Adam Short, the former Eagle guard who was inducted into the Avila Athletics Hall of Fame last fall. “Avila is a special place to me. I want to see the basketball program grow to new heights, and I can’t wait to watch Tyler take Avila to those new heights!”
Bredehoeft was instilled with a passion for basketball from a young age. He grew up going to Mizzou men’s basketball games, watching Norm Stewart and Quin Snyder’s Tiger teams, and developing a skill and passion for the sport that eventually helped him earn the opportunity to play in college. He started off his college career at Concordia University – Nebraska, where he was named team captain ahead of the 2009 season.
He then finished off his playing days at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri, where he scored more than 1,000 career points in two seasons, helped his team qualify for the NAIA tournament in 2010, earned team captain distinction for the second time, and even faced off against Avila a couple of times when both schools were members of the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
“Basketball has always been something that’s been a passion of mine since I was very little. It’s provided me with so many great friends in college, it provided me with so many great opportunities. And that’s why I love the NAIA level of basketball – it provided me so much,” Bredehoeft said. “Basketball has given me a ton, and I’ve seen what it can do for other young men, and it’s just exciting when you’re able to use basketball to help kids grow, to help teach them life skills, and to provide them the experience in college that they wouldn’t get if they weren’t playing.”
Following his three seasons as the head coach at Rock Valley, Bredehoeft will now embark on his first voyage as an NAIA head coach at Avila, where he succeeds Bill Sloan, who announced his retirement from college basketball this month after nearly 30 years as a college coach, the last nine of which have come at Avila.
“Tyler has a lot of experience and has had a lot of success at the places he’s been. I’m feeling very optimistic,” said Darien Minor, a former two-sport athlete at Avila who’s spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach under Sloan. “There’s so much new for the team right now, but that’s not always a bad thing. We appreciate Coach Sloan and we’ll miss him a lot, but I’m very excited for Tyler and his tenure at Avila.”
“Our coaches left their interviews with Tyler very impressed with who he is as a coach and as a person,” Summe said. “During the interviews he was very confident in what he said and what he believes is going to help this program get to the next level. He has enthusiasm and energy, and the desire to be our next head basketball coach – and all of that stood out. And he fits in real well with the staff we have on campus already, which is exactly what you’re looking for in a new hire.”
The Bredehoeft era of Avila men’s basketball officially begins in July; the Eagles’ 2023-24 schedule will be announced when it is finalized. For further details and information about this story, and about all of Avila’s 14 varsity athletic programs, contact Sports Information Director Tim Hackett.
https://www.avilaathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/releases/Bredehoeft_Head_Men-s_Basketball_Coach
