Story: Adam Nelson (@HD_DirtKing)
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 5 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 2023-24 college basketball season.
This is the ninth season that HoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list of 2023-24 Coach of the Week winners, as well as the list of all-time COY winners can be found following this week’s honorees.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The week 5 winners are:
D1: Bryce Drew – Grand Canyon University
Weekly record (overall): 2-0 (8-1)
Past week’s results: 79-73 W vs #25 San Diego State, 69-64 W at Liberty
Highlights: Drew led GCU to their first win ever against a Top 25 opponent as they knocked of #25 San Diego State in front of a packed house on Tuesday. The Lopes traveled to Liberty on Saturday, where they rallied from a 17-point first half deficit and snapped the Flames 20-game home win streak. Drew now has 72 wins in his first 100 games at Grand Canyon, and the Lopes are off to their best start to a season in their 11-year D1 history.
NCAA D2: Bob Pietrack – Fort Lewis College
Weekly record (overall): 3-0 (8-1)
Past week’s results: 100-80 W vs Adams State, 91-77 W vs NM Highlands, 97-64 W vs CSU Pueblo
Highlights: With three more league wins last week, the defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champions are now 4-0 in conference play after losing every starter from last year’s team. Last week’s three RMAC victories were by an average of 23.3 ppg. Pietrack’s team is also on a eight game winning streak and are a perfect 6-0 at home.
NCAA D3: Michael McSloy – Drew University
Weekly record (overall): 2-0 (9-0)
Past week’s results: 78-61 W at Scranton, 85-74 W vs Lycoming
Highlights: McSloy has Drew off to their best start in program history at 9-0 overall and 4-0 in the Landmark Conference. With their two wins last week, McSloy’s squad has tied the school record for the longest winning streak, equaling the mark set by the 2010-11 squad. On the season, Drew is out scoring their opponents 89.8 to 73.3 (+16.5).
NAIA: Tigh Compton – University of Pikeville
Weekly record (overall): 2-0 (8-3)
Past week’s results: 87-63 W vs St. Andrews, 93-79 W at Montreat
Highlights: UPike went 2-0 this past week with league wins over St. Andrews and Montreat. Those wins have pushed their conference record to 7-2 on the season and put them in a tie for first place in the Appalachian Athletic Conference standings. In last week’s two wins, the Bears averaged 90 points per game, won by an average margin of 19 points, shot a combined 54% from the field, and 43% from the three-point line.
JUCO: Terrell Harris – Prince George’s CC
Weekly record (overall): 3-0 (8-1)
Past week’s results: 77-72 W vs Harford CC, 86-84 W vs Garrett College, 101-86 W vs Butler County
Highlights: The #4 ranked NJCAA D3 team in the country had three more wins last week to move their record to 8-1 and increase their win streak to five games. PGCC opened the week on Wednesday by beating NJCAA D1 Harford 77-72. On Saturday, they trailed Garrett by 5 with just over a minute to go before going on a 7-0 run, including the game winning basket with 4.9 seconds left to end the game. Finally, on Sunday, the Owls avenged their Region 20 Championship game loss from last season, and beat Butler County 100-86.
2023-24 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Mark Byington – James Madison University
NCAA DII: Alfred Jordan – Clark Atlanta University
NCAA DIII: Caleb Kimbrough – Hampden-Sydney College
NAIA: Darnell Archey – University of Mobile
JUCO: Kris Baumann – Odessa College
NCAA DI: Ritchie McKay – Liberty University
NCAA DII: Mark Kuntz – Post University
NCAA DIII: Eric Bridgeland – University of Redlands
NAIA: Dannton Jackson – Talladega College
JUCO: Dillon Hargrove – National Park College
NCAA DI: David Ragland – Evansville University
NCAA DII: Jordan Fee – Gannon University
NCAA DIII: Anthony Medina – University of St. Thomas (TX)
NAIA: Chase Teichmann – Florida College
JUCO: Hayden Sowers – South Plains College
NCAA DI: Damon Stoudamire – Georgia Tech
NCAA DII: John Ellenwood – Ashland University
NCAA DIII: Brandon Linton – Tufts University
NAIA: Matt O’Brien – Southwestern College
JUCO: Darren Stratton – Northern Essex CC
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2022-23: Jerome Tang – Kansas State University
- 2021-22: Ed Cooley – Providence Colleg
- 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
- 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