Bethel Athletic Director Tony Natali is pleased to announce that Scott Polsgrove has been named as the 13th head coach in women’s basketball program history.
“I’m very excited to have Scott Polsgrove leading our women’s basketball program moving forward,” stated Natali. “Scott fits in perfectly with the Bethel University Athletic Department’s philosophy of being Christ-centered and student-focused. Scott is 100-percent invested in these young ladies and this program. His ability to not only be a terrific basketball coach but be very intentional about relationships makes the future very promising.”
Polsgrove takes the reins of the women’s program after previously serving last year as a men’s basketball assistant coach under Steve Drabyn in his first season in Mishawaka. He has more than 30 years of collegiate men’s basketball coaching experience, including head coaching stops at Eastern Nazarene (Mass.), Lees-McRae (NC), and King (Tenn.) and holds a career collegiate coaching mark of 275-446 in 25 years.
Prior to arriving at Bethel, Polsgrove spent five seasons as the head coach of the men’s program at Eastern Nazarene (ENC) from 2016-21, earning three conference tournament semifinal appearances.
Prior to ENC, Polsgrove earned three Western Highlands Conference Coach of the Year awards and conference championships in four years as the boys’ basketball head coach at Avery County High School in Newland, NC and left with a 41-game conference win streak intact.
Polsgrove got his first head coaching opportunity at King College in Tennessee and spent 14 seasons at the helm of the men’s program, guiding the Tornado to 187 wins and two NAIA National Tournament Appearances (98, 04). He was two-time Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC) Coach of the Year (97-98) and led the Tornado to the 1998 TVAC Tournament title. Following his time at King, Polsgrove spent five seasons at Lees-McCrae in North Carolina and built the Bobcats to the program’s best record in Conference Carolinas league play in his final season.
A native of South Bend, Polsgrove played basketball at Taylor (Ind.) under legendary head coach Paul Patterson and made three appearances in NAIA National Tournaments. His coaching career got started as a Graduate Assistant at Mobile (Ala.) and a two-year stint as an assistant at Taylor—where he assisted the Trojans to a 34-4 record and the program’s first and only trip in the NAIA national semifinals in 1991.
“I am honored and humbled to be named the women’s basketball coach at Bethel University,” stated Polsgrove. “I want to thank Athletic Director Tony Natali and Vice President for Student Development Shawn Holtgren for their confidence in me to lead this program. I am excited to work with these young ladies to help them grow academically and athletically, but most important spiritually. The women’s basketball program has a rich history, and it is my desire to make the former players and coaches who accomplished so much proud of what we do.”
Doug Porter stepped down following a 10-20 campaign in 2021-22 and a 23-51 overall record in three seasons. Polsgrove inherits a program that will return approximately 75-percent of the nation’s fifth-ranked scoring offense and welcome a 2022 class that includes three signees (of four total) that were invited to the Hoosier Basketball Magazine’s Indiana Top 60 Senior Girls workout in March. Polsgrove is expected to retain Brandon Auker as the women’s basketball assistant coach but is looking to fill an open Graduate Assistant position—interested parties are encouraged to apply.
https://www.bupilots.com/article/womens-basketball/polsgrove-tabbed-to-lead-womens-basketball
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