Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, HoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following college basketball coaches have been named recipients of the Week 13 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week Award, presented by Just Play Solutions. These coaches are now eligible for the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award, also presented by Just Play Solutions, which will be announced at the end of the 2024-25 college basketball season.
This marks the tenth season of the HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list of 2024-25 weekly winners, as well as the all-time COY recipients can be found below this week’s release.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The week 13 winners are:
NCAA D1: Jerome Tang – Kansas State University
Coach Tang led Kansas State to a pair of double-digit victories this week, including one over the then-No. 3 team in the nation. The Wildcats opened the week with an 85-57 triumph over Oklahoma State at home on Wednesday, marking the program’s largest Big 12 win since 2019. Kansas State then hit the road for a Saturday matchup with No. 3 Iowa State, who entered the contest with the second-longest home winning streak in the country at 29 games. The Wildcats put on a dominant performance, coming away with an 80-61 victory and snapping both the Cyclones’ home winning streak and their own 15-game road losing streak. With the win, Kansas State became the first sub-.500 team to defeat an AP Top 5 opponent by at least 15 points on the road, according to ESPN Stats. Now 10-11 (4-6 Big 12) on the season, the Wildcats will look to make it four straight wins when they take on Arizona State on the road on Tuesday.
NCAA D2: Brett Ballard – Washburn University
Coach Ballard’s Ichabods made program history this week, winning two more games to move to 21-0 for the first time ever. No. 1 Washburn began its week on Thursday, defeating Fort Hays State 74-65. The Ichabods returned to action on Saturday, using a 21-0 second-half run to pull away from Nebraska-Kearney and eventually come away with a 97-64 victory. The dominant victory was nothing new for Washburn, as 19 of the Ichabods’ 21 wins have come by double-digits. They will look to keep it rolling when they close out their three-game homestand against Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon.
NCAA D3: Joe Reilly – Wesleyan University
Another week, another pair of wins for Coach Reilly’s top-ranked Cardinals, who remain the lone undefeated team in DIII men’s basketball. No. 1 Wesleyan began the week by hosting ninth-ranked Tufts in a battle of the last unbeaten teams in the NESCAC on Friday. The matchup did not disappoint, as the Cardinals were able to eke out a 69-66 triumph in a game that featured nine ties and nine lead changes. Back in action the following day, Wesleyan led Connecticut College wire-to-wire in a dominant 74-54 victory. Now 21-0 (7-0 NESCAC) on the season, Wesleyan will be on the road for its final three regular season games, beginning with a matchup at Bates on Saturday.
NAIA: Delton Deal – Nelson University
Coach Deal had a week to remember, as his Lions extended their lead in the SAC and he picked up a milestone victory in his own career. On Thursday, Nelson forced Oklahoma Panhandle State into 22 turnovers leading to 30 points in a 76-54 victory. The Lions then hosted Wayland Baptist in a battle of the top two teams in the SAC on Saturday. Nelson jumped out to a 10-point halftime lead and then fought off a late comeback attempt from the visitors to come away with a 76-69 triumph. The victory marked career win No. 300 for Coach Deal, who spent seven years at York College before coming to Nelson (then Southwestern Assemblies of God University) in 2017. His Lions will look to improve on their 17-6 (15-4 SAC) record when they visit Central Christian on Thursday evening.
JUCO: Matt Lynch – University of South Carolina Salkehatchie
Coach Lynch’s USC Salkehatchie squad rode its high-powered offense to three hard-fought victories this week. The Indians defeated Cape Fear Community College 118-108 at home on Monday before hitting the road to take on Gaston, who entered the matchup at 16-2 on the season. USC Salkehatchie was able to come away with an impressive 104-100 victory, knocking down some clutch free throws at the end to secure the victory. Back in action on Saturday, the Indians took a 95-90 victory over Wake Technical Community College. The nation’s highest-scoring team, USC Salkehatchie actually went well under its season scoring average of 112.6 points per game in the win. Now 15-4 on the campaign, the Indians will look to stay hot when they visit Denmark Technical College on Tuesday.
2024-25 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
Week 1
Early season – no winners selected.
NCAA DI: Bill Self – Kansas
NCAA DII: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
NCAA DIII: Steve Schweer – Illinois College
NAIA: Tony Romero – Central Christian College
JUCO: Hunter Jenkins – Frank Phillips College
NCAA DI: Ben McCollum – Drake University
NCAA DII: Justin Namolik – Shepherd University
NCAA DIII: B.J. Dunne – Gettysburg College
NAIA: Steve Drabyn – Bethel University (IN)
JUCO: Kyle Pugh – Cloud County Community College
NCAA DI: Bruce Pearl – Auburn University
NCAA DII: Ben Wilkins – Seton Hill University
NCAA DIII: Chris Bartley – Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NAIA: Tigh Compton – University of Pikeville
JUCO: Joey Cantens – Daytona State College
NCAA DI: Dennis Gates – University of Missouri
NCAA DII: Michael Lamberti – Coker University
NCAA DIII: Kent Dernbach – University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
NAIA: Clint Galyean – Wayland Baptist University
JUCO: Cole Dewey – Indian Hills Community College
NCAA DI: Anthony Grant – University of Dayton
NCAA DII: Matt Healing – Pace University
NCAA DIII: Jesse DeLoof – University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
NAIA: Brian Van Haaften – Dordt University
JUCO: Luke Mackay – New Mexico Junior College
Week 7
Winter Break – No winners selected
Week 8
Winter Break – No winners selected
NCAA DI: Chris Crutchfield – University of Nebraska Omaha
NCAA DII: Bill Walker – Missouri University of Science and Technology
NCAA DIII: John Krikorian – Christopher Newport University
NAIA: Bill Dreikosen – Rocky Mountain College
JUCO: Andrew May – Snow College
Week 10
NCAA DI: Mike White – University of Georgia
NCAA DII: Easton Bazzoli – Gannon University
NCAA DIII: Michael McSloy – Drew University
NAIA: Jesse McClung – Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
JUCO: Kyle Isaacs – Arizona Western College
Week 11
NCAA DI: Pat Kelsey – University of Louisville
NCAA DII: Mike MacDonald – Daemen University
NCAA DIII: Brandon Linton – Tufts University
NAIA: Jordan Ashton – William Woods University
JUCO: Pete Pena – Pensacola State College
NCAA DI: Daniyal Robinson – Cleveland State University
NCAA DII: Brent Owen – Lenoir-Rhyne University
NCAA DIII: Jean Bain – Brandeis University
NAIA: Josh Gamblin – Mid-America Christian University
JUCO: Brian Peabody – Pima Community College
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2022-23: Jerome Tang – Kansas State University
- 2021-22: Ed Cooley – Providence College
- 2020-21: Dennis Gates – Cleveland State University
- 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
- 2023-24:
- 2022-23: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
- 2021-22: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
- 2020-21: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2019-20: Fred Watson – Miles College
- 2018-19: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2017-18: Andy Bronkema – Ferris State
- 2016-17: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2015-16: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University
Division III
- 2022-23: John Krikorian – Christopher Newport University
- 2021-22: Brian Baptiste – UMass Dartmouth
- 2020-21: Brooks Miller – Trine University
- 2019-20: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University
- 2018-19: Dale Wellman – Nebraska Wesleyan University
- 2017-18: Eric Bridgeland – Whitman College
- 2016-17: Stephen Brennan – Babson College
- 2015-16: John Tauer – University of St. Thomas
NAIA
- 2022-23: Chris Wright – Langston University
- 2021-22: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University New Orleans
- 2020-21: Delano Thomas – Shawnee State University
- 2019-20: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
- 2018-19: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College
- 2017-18: Craig Doty – Graceland University
- 2016-17: Kevin Burton – Union College
- 2015-16: Larry Cordaro – LSU-Alexandria
JUCO
- 2022-23: Rick Cabrera – Tallahassee Community College
- 2021-22: Greg Heiar – Northwest Florida State
- 2020-21: COVID Season – No winner selected
- 2019-20: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
- 2018-19: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College
- 2017-18: Paul Cisek – Brookdale Community College
- 2016-17: Todd Lorensen – Southwestern Community College
- 2015-16: Craig Doty – Rock Valley College
USCAA
- 2018-19: LeShawn Hammett – Penn State Wilkes-Barre
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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.
