HoopDirt.com first posted this as a rumor back on April 29th (Bradley Dirt). It has now been made official – Maike Bargen has been named as an assistant at Bradley.
Bargen comes to Bradley from Butler Community College, where he was a two-time Jayhawk Conference Coach of the Year, including the 2014-15 season when he led the Grizzlies to a 29-4 record and an at-large berth into the NJCAA National Tournament. Bargen averaged better than 20 wins per season during his eight years at the helm of the Butler C.C. program, finishing with a 164-93 (.638) record, capped by a 75-22 (.773) mark in his final three seasons.
“It’s an honor to have Mike join our program,” said Bradley head coach Brian Wardle. “He has had numerous Division I opportunities, including turning me down five years ago. But he couldn’t turn me down now and that speaks to the power of Bradley.
“Mike’s head-coaching experience, his ability to develop players and his winning history all will be great additions to our program,” Wardle added. “He brings a lot of knowledge and different philosophies, which will be helpful to our team.”
While climbing to as high as No. 4 in the 2014-15 NJCAA Top 25 in 2014-15, Bargen’s final Grizzlies team set school records for the most wins in a regular season (28), conference wins in a season (14), best winning percentage (.879) and consecutive wins (22), while enjoying a perfect, 16-0 home record.
In addition to his team success, Bargen helped 21 players move on to NCAA Division I (13) and II (eight) programs. His players earned 15 All-Jayhawk Conference awards and he produced 10 NJCAA All-Region VI honorees, as well as a first-team NJCAA All-American.
Bargen played collegiately from 1995-99 at Marquette, where his career overlapped with Wardle’s. A two-year starter for the Golden Eagles, Bargen was the team captain and most valuable player during his senior season in 1998-99, when he led team in rebounds and blocked shots and finished second in scoring.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Marquette in 1999, Bargen received his master’s degree in business administration in 2004 from Creighton University, where he served as a graduate manager on Dana Altman’s Bluejays staff. In the three seasons Bargen spent with the Bluejays, Creighton amassed a 72-23 (.758) record. The Bluejays won the 2002 Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title, claimed two MVC Tournament titles (2002, 2003) and played in two NCAA Tournaments (2002, 2003) with a first-round win against Florida in 2002. During that time, Bargen also had an opportunity to work with a quartet of All-MVC players, including current NBA players Anthony Tolliver (Detroit Pistons) and Kyle Korver (Atlanta Hawks).
Bargen began his tenure at Butler Community College as an assistant coach for three seasons from 2004-07. He was promoted to head coach for the 2007-08 season and by his third year in 2009-10, he led the Grizzlies to their first Jayhawk West Conference championship since 2001. His 2009-10 squad finished with 29 wins and Butler C.C. won the Region VI championship for the first time since 1996, qualifying for the NJCAA National Tournament for the fourth time in program history.
Bargen is married to the former Kacy Siemsen and the couple has three children: John, Olivia and Maddox.
