By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 1 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by Just Play Solutions. These coaches are now eligible to receive the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award presented by Just Play Solutions which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2020-21 college basketball season.
This is the sixth season that HoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. Last season’s weekly winners, and a list of all-time COY winners can be found following this week’s honorees.
This season will be a bit different, however. As college basketball adjusts to life with COVID, so will we. Not every level will be honored on a weekly basis – we will honor as many of the levels as possible provided enough games are played. It’s different than in the past, but we still hope to have enough weekly winners at each level to name a Coach of the Year (NCAA DI, D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCO) at the end of the season
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 1 winners are:
NCAA DI: Mark Few – Gonzaga University
Ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time in program history, Coach Few’s Zags did not disappoint in the season’s opening week. The Bulldogs took down 6th-ranked Kansas in their opener, putting on an offensive showcase in the impressive 102-90 victory on Thursday. This win marked the 600th of Coach Few’s illustrious career. Gonzaga was back in action on Friday, when they led by as many as 30 on the way to a 90-67 rout of Auburn. Now an astounding 601-124 in his career, Coach Few will look to add another to the win column when his Bulldogs take on No. 11 West Virginia at the Jimmy V Classic on Wednesday.
NCAA DII: Jeff Horner – Truman State University
After winning the GLVC Tournament title last season, Coach Horner’s Bulldogs picked up right where they left off in their first two games of the 2020-21 season. Truman State led by just one at halftime of their opener against Lewis on Friday, but utilized a huge second half to come away with an 86-65 victory. On Sunday, the Bulldogs then trailed UIndy by eight at the half, but fought back to win the contest 66-64. Coach Horner’s squad next travels to take on Missouri-St. Louis in a rematch of last year’s GLVC Championship on Saturday.NCAA DIII: Clif Carroll – University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
In his first season at the helm of UMHB, Coach Carroll guided his squad to two hard-fought victories this week. The Cru shot an impressive 21-24 from the free throw line in a closely-contested 83-80 road win against Hardin-Simmons on Friday. UMHB then trailed by one at the half of their next contest before fighting back to take a 94-84 victory over McMurray, where Coach Carroll had spent two years as Head Coach in the past. Interestingly enough, the Cru’s next matchup is with Sul Ross State, another program for which Carroll was previously Head Coach. UMHB will have some time off before this contest, which will take place on December 8th.
NAIA: Greg Tonagel – Indiana Wesleyan University
Coach Tonagel led No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan to a pair of conference victories this week as the Wildcats improved to 9-0 on the season. In their conference opener on Saturday, IWU defeated 12th-ranked Marian 84-76. They followed up on this impressive victory on Wednesday, when the Wildcats edged out a 95-92 triumph over Bethel. Indiana Wesleyan’s 9-0 start to the season is the best since the 2014-15 campaign. Coach Tonagel and his Wildcats will look to continue their winning ways on Wednesday, when they return home to take on Goshen.
JUCO: No week 1 winner awarded
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2019-20: Joe Gallo – Merrimack College
- 2018-19: Kelvin Sampson – University of Houston
- 2017-18: Porter Moser – Loyola University Chicago
- 2016-17: Chris Collins – Northwestern University
- 2015-16: Roy Williams – University of North Carolina
Division II
- 2019-20: Fred Watson – Miles College (AL)
- 2018-19: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2017-18: Andy Bronkema – Ferris State (MI)
- 2016-17: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2015-16: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University (TN)
Division III
- 2019-20: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University (NY)
- 2018-19: Dale Wellman – Nebraska Wesleyan University
- 2017-18: Eric Bridgeland – Whitman College (WA)
- 2016-17: Stephen Brennan – Babson College (MA)
- 2015-16: John Tauer – University of St. Thomas (MN)
NAIA
- 2019-20: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
- 2018-19: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College (KY)
- 2017-18: Craig Doty – Graceland University (IA)
- 2016-17: Kevin Burton – Union College (KY)
- 2015-16: Larry Cordaro – LSU-Alexandria
JUCO
- 2019-20: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
- 2018-19: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College (TX)
- 2017-18: Paul Cisek – Brookdale Community College (NJ)
- 2016-17: Todd Lorensen – Southwestern Community College (IA)
- 2015-16: Craig Doty – Rock Valley College (IL)
USCAA
- 2018-19: LeShawn Hammett – Penn State Wilkes-Barre
2019-20 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Walter McCarty – University of Evansville
NCAA DII: Mark Downey – Northeastern State (OK)
NCAA DIII: Josh Merkel – Randolph-Macon College (VA)
NAIA: Kelly Wells – University of Pikeville (KY)
JUCO: Kyle Cooper – Western Texas College
NCAA DI: Tony Bennett – University of Virginia
NCAA DII: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas College (NY)
NCAA DIII: Bosko Djurickovic – Carthage College (WI)
NAIA: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University (LA)
JUCO: Anthony Fletcher – Eastfield College (TX)
NCAA DI: Juwan Howard – University of Michigan
NCAA DII: Matt Healing – Pace University (NY)
NCAA DIII: Keith Bunkenburg – Benedictine University (IL)
NAIA: Todd Lorensen – Mount Marty College (SD)
JUCO: Cole Dewey – Otero Junior College (CO)
NCAA DI: LaVall Jordan – Butler University
NCAA DII: Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern College
NCAA DIII: Landry Kosmalski – Swarthmore College (NY)
NAIA: Tae Norwood – Keiser University (FL)
JUCO: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College (TX)
NCAA DI: Ritchie McKay – Liberty University
NCAA DII: Tom Klusman – Rollins College (FL)
NCAA DIII: Dave Niland – Penn State-Behrand
NAIA: Aaron Siebenthall – Ottawa University (KS)
JUCO: Brennan McCarthy – Northampton Community College (PA)
NCAA DI: Steve Forbes – East Tennessee State University
NCAA DII: Damien Blair – West Chester University (PA)
NCAA DIII: Anthony Medina – University of St. Thomas (TX)
NAIA: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
JUCO: Terry Bowe – Lakeland Community College (OH)
NCAA DI: Kelvin Sampson – University of Houston
NCAA DII: DII Winter Break Week – No Winner
NCAA DIII: Pete Moran – John Carroll University (OH)
NAIA: Matt Wilber – Dakota Wesleyan University
JUCO: Eric Murphy – Florida SouthWestern State University
NCAA DI: Brian Dutcher – San Diego State University
NCAA DII: Kyle Gerdeman – Lindenwood University (MO)
NCAA DIII: Jeff Brown – Middlebury College (VT)
NAIA: Patrick Crarey – Washington Adventist University (MD)
JUCO: Luke Strege – Mineral Area College (MO)
NCAA DI: Scott Drew – Baylor University
NCAA DII: Eric Olen – University of California, San Diego
NCAA DIII: Jim Calhoun – University of Saint Joseph (CT)
NAIA: Preston Ingram – Missouri Baptist University
JUCO: Zach Settembre – Tallahassee Community College (FL)
NCAA DI: Nate Oats – University of Alabama
NCAA DII: Bart Lundy – Queens University of Charlotte
NCAA DIII: Jean Bain – Brandeis University (MA)
NAIA: Josh Gamblin – Mid-America Christian University
JUCO: Pat Smith – Moberly Area Community College
NCAA DI: Anthony Grant – University of Dayton
NCAA DII: Matt Majkrzak – Northern Michigan University
NCAA DIII: Damien Strahorn Colby College (ME)
NAIA: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College (KY)
JUCO: Carl Howell – Skagit Valley College (WA)
NCAA DI: Joe Gallo – Merrimack College
NCAA DII: Matt Brock – University of Illinois-Springfield
NCAA DIII: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University (NY)
NAIA: Alfred Williams – Xavier University of Louisiana
JUCO: Kevin O’Connor – Murray State College (OK)
NCAA DI: David Cox – University of Rhode Island
NCAA DII: Mike Helfer – Valdosta State University (GA)
NCAA DIII: Matt Hunter – York College (PA)
NAIA: Austin Hunter – Lewis-Clark State (ID)
JUCO: Matthew St. Croix – Mohawk Valley Community College (NY)
NCAA DI: Richie Riley – University of South Alabama
NCAA DII: Fred Watson – Miles College (AL)
NCAA DIII: Johnny Tauer – University of St. Thomas (MN)
NAIA: Kyle Blankenship – LSU Shreveport
JUCO: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
NCAA DI: Mark Pope Brigham Young University
NCAA DII: David Balza – Palm Beach Atlantic University (FL)
NCAA DIII: Greg Dunne – SUNY Brockport
NAIA: Adam Hiatt – Montana Tech
JUCO: Chris Lovell – Bossier Parrish Community College (LA)
NCAA DI: Keith Dambrot – Duquesne University
NCAA DII: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University (TN)
NCAA DIII: Shiva Senthil – SUNY Canton
NAIA: Scott Sanderson – Faulkner University (AL)
JUCO: Mike Smelkinson – Howard Community College (MD)
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About Just Play Solutions
Just Play Solutions has become the market leader in coaches’ workflow. A platform to help coaches prepare playbooks, automate scouting reports, research analytics, integrate and distribute video, manage recruiting workflow, and organize recruiting schedules. The end-to-end platform is used by over 700 customers across the country and internationally in football, basketball, and lacrosse.
