The Mount St. Mary’s University men’s basketball program has announced changes to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2018-19 campaign as the Mountaineers are set to embark on their first season under new Head Coach Dan Engelstad. The Mount has promoted Will Holland to associate head coach and Mike Wolf to director of basketball operations, in addition to bringing on Xavier Joyner and Matt Miller as assistant coaches.
Holland has helped guide the Mountaineers to Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament appearances in each of his first two seasons on the staff, including an NEC Championship and NCAA Opening Round win in 2017. A 2010 graduate of Mount St. Mary’s, Holland played for three seasons under Engelstad when he was an assistant coach on Milan Brown’s staff. Holland was a two-time team captain with the Mountaineers, and helped lead the program to a conference championship in 2008 and the school’s first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament win. Holland went on to play professionally in Portugal, Mexico, and for the Washington Generals, before entering the coaching ranks as an assistant at Saint Francis University, where he spent three seasons before joining the Mount’s staff.
Engelstad on Holland: “Having coached Will here at Mount St. Mary’s, and seeing his growth as a college coach as a tremendous individual skill developer, I am thrilled he has decided to accept the new position as our Associate Head Coach. Will has been an integral part of the success here at the Mount as both a player and a coach, and I am looking forward to seeing him grow in his expanded role.”
Wolf will move from graduate assistant coach to director of basketball operations entering his second year with the Mountaineers. Prior to joining the Mount’s coaching staff last season, he spent two years as an assistant coach at Emory & Henry College. In 2016-17, Wolf helped lead the Wasps to their first 20-win season in 24 years, and to the ODAC Tournament Championship game for the first time in 23 years. As a player, Wolf was a three-year captain and the valedictorian for his class at William Peace University. He was a member of the school’s first-ever men’s basketball team in 2012-13, and led the team to a second-place finish as a senior. Wolf started 55 consecutive games, and ranked second in NCAA Division III in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.8) as a senior.
Engelstad on Wolf: “Mike has the reputation as being one of the hardest workers out there. He is well-rounded and brings continuity, energy and intelligence to our staff.”
Joyner brings a wealth of experience to the Mount, including stops at the collegiate, high school and AAU realms during his lengthy coaching career. Joyner recently completed his third season as the assistant coach and scouting director at Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, Virginia, where he helped lead the team to a 33-4 overall record and a perfect 18-0 mark in WCAC play during the 2017-18 regular season, as they broke the school record for most regular season victories and longest winning streak (25) during the historic campaign. Joyner’s Panthers captured the WCAC Regular Season Title and VISAA Division I State Championship, and finished the season ranked No. 14 in the nation in the USA Today Poll.
Joyner has also spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach for one of the top AAU programs in the country, Nike Team Takeover, based out of Washington, D.C. Joyner helped the team capture the prestigious Las Vegas FAB 48 Championship in 2017, while also propelling the 16U EYBL squad to the No. 1 ranking in the nation in the final poll of the season.
Prior to his time in the high school and AAU circuits, Joyner was a head coach at Prince George’s Community College (2010-15) and Montgomery College Germantown (2004-10). He’s one of the all-time winningest junior college head coaches in the country with over 200 victories, and is the only coach in Maryland JUCO history to win regional championships at two different schools. During his time as a JUCO head coach, Joyner collected coach of the year honors on six occasions.
As a player, Joyner was a member of the Husson University men’s basketball program in Bangor, Maine. He was an all-conference performer and helped lead his squad to back-to-back Maine Athletic Conference Championships. Joyner was also the recipient of the Allen Kenyon Leadership Award and the Nelson Degrasse Scholar-Athlete Award.
Joyner graduated from Husson in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration/marketing.
Engelstad on Joyner: “Xavier has been a successful head coach at the collegiate level, worked with a top high school staff at Paul VI, and worked with one of the top AAU programs in Team Takeover. He has demonstrated the ability to connect with people and is also a teacher of the game.”
Miller holds over 14 years of combined coaching experience between the NCAA and high school levels. He comes to the Mount after spending the last four seasons as the head coach at St. Maria Goretti High School in Hagerstown, where he led the team to a 100-42 record during his tenure while posting the two-highest win totals in a single season for the school since 1999. In 2016-17, Miller guided the squad to a BCL Regular Season Title and the school’s first playoff win since 2001. The following year, Miller led his squad to the No. 7 ranking in the Northeast in the USA Today Poll. Following the season, Miller was named the Baltimore Catholic League, Washington County (Md.), DMV Elite Maryland, and Inside Sports Coach of the Year.
Prior to his time at St. Maria Goretti, Miller was the top assistant at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. He helped propel the Rams to a 20-10 mark during the 2013-14 campaign, which was the program’s best record since 1992. The successful season earned the first regional ranking in program history for the Rams. Miller, who also served as the recruiting coordinator, recruited a pair of 1,000-point scorers, three all-conference players, and the single-season record holder for three-pointers.
Miller also had previous stops as an assistant coach at Marymount University and at his alma mater, St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Miller was a three-year student-athlete at St. Mary’s, playing alongside Engelstad for one season. Miller earned the Capital Athletic Conference Student-Athlete Award in each of his final two seasons, and was a team captain in 2003-04.
Miller earned his bachelor’s degree as a dual major in economics and public policy from St. Mary’s in 2005, and went on to get his master’s degree in ESOL with a PreK-12 certification in physical education, health and ESOL from Marymount University in 2008.
Engelstad on Miller: “Matt has been one of the elite high school coaches in the country in what he has done at St. Maria Goretti. He has demonstrated the ability to lead, teach the game, and build a program. He has deep ties to the area that will serve our basketball program well.”
http://www.mountathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180604i2a9ti
