University of North Dakota men’s basketball head coach Paul Sather has announced that Jamie Stevens and Zach Horstman have been named as assistant coaches for the Fighting Hawk men’s basketball program for the upcoming season.
Jamie Stevens
Jamie Stevens spent one season under Sather at Northern State, helping guide the Wolves to a 26-7 overall record and 18-4 mark in NSIC play en route to back-to-back conference titles and the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
Prior to moving to Aberdeen, Stevens spent seven seasons as the head coach at Montana State University Billings, finishing with an 89-113 overall record and advancing to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2017. In 2012, MSUB went 18-12 to claim the program’s first GNAC Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to his time at MSU Billings, Stevens spent four seasons at Central Wyoming College, where he resurrected a program that had been out of existence for nearly two decades. In the three competition years under his guidance, CWC compiled a 53-39 record with three consecutive winning seasons. In his first season, the team finished 19-11 and tied for first in sub-region play, earning Stevens the Wyoming Community College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. In 2010-11, the Rustlers finished 17-15 overall and advanced to the second round of the Region IX Tournament in Norfolk, Neb. Under Stevens, numerous players earned postseason recognitions as six players earned all-conference honors and two earned all-region honors. His inaugural team (2008-09) also carried a 3.17 team GPA that earned them a National Academic Team of the Year distinction by the NNJCAA.
Stevens began his coaching career as the assistant men’s basketball coach at the Colorado School of Mines for six seasons. During the 2005-06 season, Stevens was a part of an Oredigger squad that had a 15-14 overall record and advanced to the RMAC/Wells Fargo Shootout after an opening round victory in the conference quarterfinals. It was the first win in the RMAC tournament for Mines since 1996.
He played collegiately at Montana State University Billings from 1994-99 and is known as one of the most prolific passers in the program’s history. In four seasons, Stevens set records for most assists in a game (16) and in a career (805), and also left the school with the most career steals (167). Stevens helped the Yellowjackets to a Pacific West Conference championship during the 1995-96 season and a trip to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 during the 1996-97 season. His play and dedication to the program earned him induction into the Eastern Montana College/Montana State University Billings Athletic Hall of Fame in February of 2008.
Coach Sather on Stevens
“We’re excited about adding Jamie to our coaching staff,” said Sather.” I have known him for several years and we worked together last year at Northern State. Jamie brings a wealth of experience to the staff as he has been a head coach at both the junior college and NCAA Division II level. He has developed strong recruiting ties throughout the country and is a tremendous evaluator. His experience as a head coach is really valuable to our staff and to me personally, as he understands the day to day decisions that head coaches need to make.”
Zach Horstman
Former South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year Zach Horstman spent three seasons at Northern State under Sather, playing a crucial role in the development of student-athletes and game preparation.
In his first two seasons on staff, NSU went 58-12 overall and 37-7 in the NSIC. Horstman played a crucial part in the Wolves NCAA Elite 8 run this past season, as the team set a school record with 36 wins. Horstman worked primarily with the Wolves ‘bigs’, Carter Evans and Logan Doyle, who both ranked in the top-10 all-time in single season field goal percentage. Doyle was named to the NSIC All-Conference second team, NCAA Central Region All-Tournament team, and NCAA Elite 8 All-Tournament team.
Horstman was involved in game prep and opponent scouting throughout the regular and post-season, as well as the recruiting efforts for the four incoming freshman in 2018-19. He planned and implemented team travel arrangements, in addition to academic hours and team study.
The Winner, S.D., native began his coaching career on staff at the Sanford Pentagon working with a middle school team, as well as on-site and satellite camps through the venue.
Horstman is a graduate of South Dakota State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Physical Education. As a member of the Jackrabbit basketball squad, he appeared in 106 games. Horstman tallied 347 career points, while shooting 42.6 percent from the floor, 31.4 percent from the arch, and 68.4 percent from the foul line. He is also a 2018 graduate of Northern State with a master’s degree in sport performance and leadership.
Horstman was a 4-year All-Big Dakota Conference selection and the 2011 South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year. He was also honored as the co-Mr. Basketball and the Argus Leader Player of the Year.
Coach Sather on Horstman
“Zach is a tremendous addition to our staff,” said Sather. “He played on championship-level teams in the Summit League and has been with me at Northern State the past three years. He has done an exceptional job as a recruiter and understands what type of student-athletes we need to recruit here to help North Dakota compete for championships. His experience as a player in the Summit League will be invaluable to our players and staff as we begin to build our culture of Fighting Hawk Basketball.”
Current assistant coach Dani Mihailovic as well as director of operations Nate Kaeding will remain in their roles for the upcoming season.
North Dakota Basketball Staff Update
