Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, HoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following college basketball coaches have been named recipients of the Week 6 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 6 winners are:
NCAA D1: Anthony Grant – University of Dayton
Coach Grant’s Flyers picked up their second top-six win of the season this week, as they rallied back to defeat No. 6 Marquette on Saturday. Dayton trailed 36-26 at the half, but shot 55.6% from the field and did not turn the ball over across the final 20 minutes as they outscored Marquette by 18 in the period en route to a 71-63 victory. Having already taken down then-No. 2 UConn earlier in the season, the Flyers have now beaten two top-six teams in a season for the first time since 1967. Dayton will return to action on Tuesday night with a home matchup against UNLV.
NCAA D2: Matt Healing – Pace University
Another two victories this week have Coach Healing’s Pace squad off to its best start in program history. The 11th-ranked Setters opened the week with a dominant 99-60 road victory over Wilmington, improving to 10-0 (4-0 NE10) for the first time in program history. Pace would go on to extend the record when it picked up a 76-65 win over RV Jefferson on Saturday. The Setters will look to move to 12-0 when they close out the non-conference schedule against the College of Staten Island on the road on Wednesday.
NCAA D3: Jesse DeLoof – University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Coach DeLoof’s high-powered offense was back on display this week, as his Panthers put up a combined 237 points across two more victories. Pitt-Bradford defeated Houghton 120-87 on Tuesday before returning to conference play against Hilbert on Saturday. The Panthers took a 117-103 victory, moving to 8-0 (2-0 AMCC) on the season and continuing to extend the program’s best start in history. They will now have two weeks off before a matchup against Wooster at the Wooster Kiwanis Classic on December 29.
NAIA: Brian Van Haaften – Dordt University
With two more wins this week, Coach Van Haaften has Dordt off to a 14-0 (6-0 GPAC) start to the season. The 11th-ranked Defenders found themselves locked in a tight battle on the road against Briar Cliff on Wednesday, but used a late run to pull away and take a 93-79 victory. Back in action on Saturday, Dordt shot 61.5% from the field in a 99-68 home triumph over Hastings. The Defenders will have to wait until 2025 to look for their 15th victory, as they now have two weeks off for winter break before returning to the floor on January 2nd against Doane.
JUCO: Luke Mackay – New Mexico Junior College
Coach Mackay’s squad remained perfect this week, picking up another victory to improve to 13-0 on the season. 2nd-ranked New Mexico Junior College defeated Ranger College 91-83 on the road on Wednesday to head into winter break riding high. The Thunderbirds have won 10 of their 13 contests by double-digits, and, with top-ranked Trinity Valley’s loss on Saturday, will likely take over the top spot in the NJCAA DI Top-25 rankings when they are released. NMJC will return to action on January 2nd with a rematch against Ranger College.
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
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
About HoopDirt.com
HoopDirt.com is the largest website in the country dedicated specifically to college basketball coaching news, jobs, and rumors at all levels. HoopDirt.com brings a unique insider perspective to the world of college basketball coaching – it was founded by college coaches as a way to help the college basketball community stay informed of what is going on in the coaching profession.
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.
