Josh Ward has been chosen as the 15th head coach of the Marian University women’s basketball program, as announced by Director of Athletics Tony Draves.
“We’re excited to announce Josh Ward as our next women’s basketball coach,” said Director of Athletics Tony Draves. “Josh impressed all of us during the interview process, and we can’t wait to have him join the Sabre family and take our program to the next level.”
Ward brings with him a wealth of experience at the NCAA Division III level and takes over the Sabre women’s basketball program after spending last season as an assistant at Albion. The Britons went 18-8 and were able to qualify for the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament after posting an 11-5 mark in conference action. The postseason awards saw two student-athletes earn All-MIAA action with one of those awards being a first-team selection. As a team, the Britons would also be recognized for an MIAA Team GPA award after recording a 3.41 grade-point average to go with 11 student-athletes making the MIAA Honor Roll.
He also spent two seasons as an assistant coach with Adrian College and Mount Union prior to his arrival to Albion. In his first season at Mount Union, the Purple Raiders would go 20-8 and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament. The national tournament berth was the seventh in program history for Mount Union. He would help in the aid and development of the OAC Player of the Year and an All-American at Mount Union.
“I want to thank Tony Draves and the rest of the search committee for trusting me to lead this program,” said Ward. “I am fired up to be the new head women’s basketball coach at Marian University. I am excited for the opportunity to coach such a hardworking group of student-athletes and look forward to getting on campus to get things rolling.”
This will be his second time leading a program at the NCAA Division III level after serving as the head coach at SUNY Canton from 2018-2020. Ward helped lead the transition for SUNY Canton into the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) and in his first season led the Kangaroos to a 12-14 record with a trip to the NAC Tournament. The Kangaroos would go on to defeat Thomas in the opening round for the program’s first conference tournament victory in the NAC era. Two student-athletes would go on to earn All-NAC recognition during the offseason with one being a first-team pick.
His other coaching experience includes Penn (Ohio) Athletic Club girls’ coach (2015), University of Pittsburgh at Titusville men’s assistant coach (2014-15), and Hermitage School District (HSD) varsity boys’ assistant coach (2012-14).
Ward earned his Bachelor of Science from Ohio Valley University in 2011, where he played basketball for two seasons after transferring from Thiel College. In 2014, he received his Master of Science from California University of Pennsylvania.
https://sabreathletics.com/news/2022/8/18/ward-womens-basketball.aspx
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