Wittenberg University head men’s basketball coach Matt Croci has announced the promotion of Daniel Ellis to full-time assistant for the upcoming 2020-21 season, along with welcoming aboard former North Coast Athletic Conference standout David Vogel to the staff.
Ellis has worked with the Wittenberg post players helping develop Connor Seipel and James Johnson to achieve All-NCAC honors during his first two seasons on staff. He has been heavily involved in the recruiting process of the last two classes two join the Red and White, taking an emphasis on the Southwest Ohio area.
“We are pleased to announce the promotion of Coach Danny Ellis to full-time assistant coach. Danny has played an integral role in our program’s success on the court, in recruiting and in player development. We all look forward to him taking on a larger role in all aspects of the program,” said Head Coach Matt Croci.
Ellis had previously spent four seasons at Berry University, assisting in all aspects of coaching, including the development of guard play, shooting and day-to-day operations. In addition, Ellis assisted with the program’s transition to NCAA Division III. During his final year at Berry he helped the Vikings to an (SAA) Tournament Championship and the programs first ever appearance in the NCAA National Tournament.
Ellis, a native of Springfield, Ohio, started his college coaching career during the 2010-2011 season as an assistant coach at Thomas More College, his alma mater, he helped the Saints to a 71-39 record over a four-year period. During that time at Thomas More, the team had back-to-back 20-win seasons capped off by a 23-5 record in 2012-2013, setting the school record for most wins in a season. He also helped the Saints to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament championship game each of his last three seasons.
Ellis also helped mentor and develop D’Carlo Hayes at Thomas More, an All-American guard and PAC Player-of-the-Year while having the privilege to work alongside two-time PAC Coach-of-the-Year Jeff Rogers at both Thomas More College and Berry College.
A starting guard during his playing years at Thomas More, Ellis led the PAC in three-point percentage and served a team captain during his senior year on a conference championship team that advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.
Vogel joins the Wittenberg staff, having spent the past two seasons in Fort Worth, Texas serving as a graduate assistant with Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University.
“We are really excited to add David to the coaching staff. He had a tremendous playing career in our league and has familiarity with the opponents we’ll face,” Head Coach Matt Croci said, “He also brings great experience from his 2 years at TCU and will fit in the program extremely well.”
While on staff at TCU, Vogel served as video coordinator, helping develop scouting reports of all 35 opponents throughout the season for players and coaches, along with coordinating film exchange within the Big 12 and nationwide. Adding to his responsibilities, Vogel compiled a database of information on potential recruits for staff, along with assisting hosting recruits and families on campus at TCU.
As a player, Vogel was a four-year letter winner for the DePauw Tigers, earning All-NCAC honors 2016, ’17 and ’18, along with collecting NCAC All-Tournament Team honors those same seasons. Vogel averaged led DePauw in scoring and minutes with 12 points per game in 28 minutes of action as the only Tiger during the 2017-18 season to play and start in all 26 games. Vogel also led DePauw in three-point shooting, knocking down 43 percent from beyond the arc.
Vogel graduated from DePauw in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Communication, before moving on to earn his M. Ed. In Educational Leadership from TCU in 2020.
https://www.wittenbergtigers.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/releases/20200813g5ajgb
