Buena Vista University (BVU) Director of Athletics, Jack Denholm, has announced that Todd Lorensen has been hired as the next head men’s basketball coach at BVU, pending successful completion of a standard background check.
Lorensen just recently completed his fourth season as head men’s basketball coach at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa, where he quickly became one of the storied head coaches in the program’s recent history. He took over the program less than a month before the start of the school year in 2014 and assembled a team that posted a solid 23-10 record. In just his second season in 2015-16, he guided the Spartans to a school record 25 wins. That record didn’t last long, as the team marched to a 36-1 overall record and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national title in 2016-17. Lorensen went on to earn District 8 NJCAA Coach of the Year, National NJCAA DII Coach of the Year, NABC National Junior College Coach of Year, IBCA (Iowa Basketball Coaches Association) College Coach of the Year, and Hoopdirt.com NJCAA Coach of the Year honors. In addition, he was selected as head coach of the NJCAA All-Star Game and asked to present at various Nike coaching clinics, among greats like coaches Bobby Knight and Bo Ryan.
In 2017-18, Lorensen’s squad again made a deep postseason run by capturing a third-place national finish after going 29-8. In his four seasons, Lorensen posted an overall mark of 113-25 after the team had won just 39 percent of its games the previous five seasons. He also led the program to a 35-13 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference record and captured back-to-back conference titles in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
“Todd brings in a wealth of knowledge, enthusiasm and success while being very accomplished at the collegiate level,” says Denholm. “He showed through the interview process his vision and passion for BVU. He has had success while coaching at many different levels and has proven he knows how to win. We are excited to welcome him to the BVU team and get started on the next chapter of BVU basketball.”
Prior to taking over at Southwestern, Lorensen served one season as head coach at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and also had stints as an assistant coach at Truman State University (2011-13), University of Nebraska-Omaha (2008-11) and Grand View University (2007-08).
“I would like to thank President Merchant, Athletic Director Jack Denholm, and the entire search committee for giving me the opportunity to lead the basketball program at Buena Vista University,” says Lorensen. “Buena Vista is a great institution that has outstanding tradition in men’s basketball. Coach Van Haaften has created a winning culture. Our goal will be to build on the foundation he established while here. I am eager to meet the loyal alumni, current players, and incoming recruits. I am proud to be the next coach at Buena Vista.”
As a player, Lorensen played basketball collegiately for one season (2003-04) at Quincy University in Quincy, Ill., and for three years at Grand View University where he scored over 1,000 career points, served as a team captain and was an Honorable Mention Academic All-Conference all three years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration as well as a master’s degree in business administration from Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb.
http://www.bvuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180410gwvm2o
