Tony Stockman, who has regularly led his basketball teams to winning seasons and national championships, has been named head men’s basketball coach for the Columbia International University Rams. James Whitaker, CIU’s Athletic Director, announced the hiring on Thursday morning.
“Tony Stockman has been extremely successful in building a winning college basketball program over the past 6 years,” Whitaker said. “Coach Stockman is a winner as evidenced by his 2 national championships, his outstanding overall record, and his experience as a college and professional player. He’s also very involved in the lives of his players, encouraging them to be all they can be – on the court, in the classroom, and in their walk with God. I’m excited to have him leading CIU Basketball into the future and to welcome his family into Ram Nation.”
Stockman comes to CIU after coaching the past six seasons at Ohio Christian University. While at OCU, Stockman won two NCCAA D2 National Championships in 2013 and 2014 and was named National Coach of the Year in 2015. In 2015-16, Stockman helped the Trailblazers make the transition to NAIA and NCCAA D1, leading OCU to the NCCAA D1 National Tournament in 2016 and advancing to the championship game in 2017.
In addition to his outstanding coaching career, Stockman also had a great career as a player including strong ties to the state of South Carolina. Stockman originally signed with Clemson University after being named Mr. Basketball for the state of Ohio after averaging 25.5 points per game and becoming the all-time leading scorer at Medina High School where he led his team to a 58-9 record in three seasons. At Clemson, Stockman was one of the top freshman in the ACC with a scoring average of 12.0 in his first season. In his 2nd season at Clemson he was the leading sophomore scorer in ACC play with an average of 14.1 points per game in conference games. Stockman transferred to Ohio State prior to his junior year where he averaged 13.6 points per game as a junior and led the Buckeyes to a 20-12 record as a senior under Coach Thad Matta.
After graduating from Ohio State with a degree in sociology, Stockman went on to play professional basketball overseas for 7 years in several different countries before coming back home and starting his coaching career.
As CIU athletics continues to grow and enters the NAIA as part of the AAC Conference, Stockman brings valuable experience with basketball in the NAIA as well as building a culture of success. Stockman comes to CIU with a mindset to continue to grow the CIU basketball program. “I am very excited about coming down and taking over the CIU basketball program,” said Stockman. “I am looking forward to this new opportunity and getting a chance to use basketball to impact lives and spread the Gospel.”
Stockman compiled a 131-73 record in six seasons. His teams have reached the postseason in all six seasons, with five NCCAA appearances and three River States Athletic Conference tournaments. Stockman has coached two NCCAA First Team All-Americans.
Stockman is married to his wife Brittany and has three sons and two daughters – Tayden, Maddox, Braysen, Mytae, Solae.
https://www.ciurams.com/news/2018/4/23/tony-stockman-named-mens-basketball-head-coach.aspx
