I mentioned this one back on 5/10 (DAILY DIRT). It’s now official..Brad Witherspoon has been named as the new head coach at Dodge City CC. Here’s the release from the school:
The reigns of the Dodge City men’s basketball program are now in the hands of Brad Witherspoon as he’s been named the next Head Coach of the Conquistadors, becoming the 21st head coach in school history.
Witherspoon takes over a program that saw expectational success for the 2021-22 finishing 30-5 winning the KJCCC title, Region VI title, and a National Tournament appearance. Last year Witherspoon took over the Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa College men’s basketball program and guided the team to a 21-8 record and 12-4 mark in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference winning the OCAC title. He had a player who earned NJCAA Division I honorable mention All-American honors, along with two players selected to the All-Region team including the Freshman of the Year in Region two.
“Brad brings a great background with him to Dodge City Community College. He has great experience in the Jayhawk Conference as an assistant and knows what it takes to win the conference. He added head coaching experience this past year and that makes him a great fit for Conq Basketball. We are excited to get Brad and Emily to campus and get started shaping the program in the mold that he wants,” said Athletic Director, Jacob Ripple about the addition of Witherspoon to the Conq athletics family.
The Humboldt, Kansas native before taking over NOC-Tonkawa spent four years in the KJCCC as an assistant coach at Barton where he helped the Cougars amass a 93-33 record overall and 63-28 in the Jayhawk Conference. Barton finished second in the KJCCC Division I or KJCCC DI West standings each year. His coaching career started at Culver-Stockton in 2010 where he served as an assistant for two years, along the way his coaching career he had stops at John Wood Community College, Doane University, and Kilgore College. While at John Wood he helped win the program’s first outright conference championships and first Region championship since 1996 and earned a trip to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament with a national runner-up finish in 2015 with the help of two First-Team All-Americans.
Witherspoon knows this opportunity is a great one to coach at Dodge City and in the Jayhawk Conference.
“I am excited to get started and continue the success the team had this year under Jake Williams. It has always been a dream of mine to be a head coach in the Jayhawk Conference, and I believe that Dodge City is a perfect fit,” said Witherspoon about the opportunity to take over as Head Coach for the Conqs men’s basketball program.
Before starting his coaching career Witherspoon suited up for the University of Kansas Jayhawks playing under KU Head Coach, Bill Self being a part of two Big 12 regular-season titles, two Big 12 Tournament titles, an Elite Eight appearance, a Final Four, and a National Championship in 2008. He was a two-year letterman He was a two-year letterman at KU and named to the Dean’s and Big 12 Commissioner Academic Honor Rolls while earning Jayhawk Scholar-Athlete honors. He also served as an assistant director of numerous basketball camps and intramural sports supervisor and worked in the front office for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Witherspoon hopes to continue to build upon the recent success for the Conqs and continue to elevate the program.
“I’d like to thank President Nolte and Athletic Director Jake Ripple for believing in me and allowing me to lead a historic program like Dodge City. I’m looking forward to competing in one of the most competitive regions in NJCAA Basketball. My wife and I can’t wait to get to Dodge City full time and get to know everyone in the community and at the college. Go Conqs!,” said Witherspoon.
