Western New Mexico University Hall of Fame men’s basketball player Matt Enriquez will now coach the team that he played four years for putting up numbers that landed him in the athletic hall of fame. Enriquez was named the new Head Men’s Basketball Coach Sunday taking over for Jeff Law who resigned his post shortly after the season.
“We had a great pool of candidates and I feel that Matt Enriquez is a perfect fit for the position. He was a standout player here and has developed into an outstanding coach,” Director of Athletics Mark Coleman said. “I feel that during the time that he spent as the interim head coach for the women’s program proved he was ready to make the next step. His love for the university is invaluable.”
Enriquez recently completed his 14th season with WNMU as a player, assistant coach and most recently interim head coach of the women’s basketball program. He helped lead the Lady Mustangs to a 10-18 record, 5-13 under his direction, after taking over mid-season for Rusty Kennedy. Junior guard Jordan Gutierrez was named to the RMAC honorable mention squad.
“It feels great to be the new head coach. I am honored that WNMU President Dr. Joseph Shepard and Coach Coleman have given me this opportunity and privilege to coach this basketball team,” Enriquez said. “I am excited about working tirelessly to build this program up and establish a great tradition of Mustang basketball.”
Prior to taking over as the interim coach, he spent the previous nine-plus seasons as an assistant coach for the men’s program. He helped current Director of Athletics Mark Coleman for seven years as an assistant and contributed to Coleman’s 104 wins as Mustang head coach.
During that span they tallied 10 or more wins in six seasons and were part of the 17-win season in 2007-08 that ended up defeating Adams State in the first round of the RMAC Tournament.
Enriquez, a 2006 WNMU graduate, piled up record-breaking numbers during his four-year career at WNMU finishing with 1,591 points, 510 field goals, 197 three-pointers, 350 rebounds, 223 assists and 32 steals. He Scored a season-high in points of 466 twice as a sophomore and senior and averaged double-digits in every season.
He played in 105 games, starting 82 and since 1999-2000 he is amongst the all-time school leaders in most points in a game (40), field goals made in a game (14), field goal percentage in a game with at least eight made (.833, 10-12) tied for fourth, tied for sixth in three-point percentage made in a game with at least six (.667, 6-9), third for free throws made in a game (12), tied for fifth for most steals in a game with five which occurred three times. He was inducted into the WNMU Hall of Fame in 2015.
http://www.wnmumustangs.com/news/2016/4/10/enriquez-selected-as-next-head-mens-basketball-coach.aspx
Photo Courtesy WNMU Athletics
