North Dakota State University director of athletics Matt Larsen has named Jory Collins the next head coach of the Bison women’s basketball program. The announcement was made Monday, April 29.
Collins will be the 11th head coach of the Bison. Collins just finished his first year as an assistant at the University of Kansas after spending eight seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division II Emporia State.
“Jory Collins rose to the top of a very competitive and deep pool of candidates to be the next head women’s basketball coach at NDSU,” Larsen said. “Not only am I excited about his past experiences as both a head coach and a high-level assistant, but his passion and template for success are undeniable. I look forward to welcoming Jory, his wife Casey and their two sons, Jett and Jude, to the Bison family.”
This past season at Kansas, Collins primarily worked with the post players. He helped recruit the No. 2 class in the Big 12 after the early signing period in November.
“It’s an honor to be named the head women’s basketball coach at North Dakota State University,” Collins said. “From the moment I stepped on campus I could sense a togetherness throughout the athletic department. It’s an environment that fits my personality. The administration’s support for the student-athletes is special.”
Collins spent 12 years at Emporia State, including the last eight as the head coach. He compiled a record of 199-56 with five straight Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association tournament titles (2013-17) and six straight trips to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 (2012-17). In 2017, Emporia State finished the season ranked first in the NCAA Central Region for the third time in four years.
His 2015 team won the NCAA Division II Central Region championship, advancing to the Final Four with a 29-5 record. Collins has a 33-9 career postseason record in the MIAA and NCAA tournaments, while compiling a 15-8 overall record against teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation.
Collins was named the KBCA Women’s Basketball Four-Year Coach of the Year in 2015, while being named the NCAA Division II Region 7 Russell Athletic/WBCA Coach of the Year in 2014. The Hornets finished with 20 or more wins in seven of his eight seasons as a head coach.
Off the floor, the Hornets finished with the top GPA (3.72) in NCAA Division II in 2017. The 2018 squad finished fourth in the nation with a 3.71 GPA.
Prior to being the head coach at Emporia State, Collins spent four years as an assistant for the Hornets. Emporia State won back-to-back MIAA championships in 2008 and 2009. In 2010, the Hornets won the NCAA Division II national championship with a 30-5 record. Collins served as the primary recruiter that identified, evaluated, recruited and signed the class that won the national championship.
“Women’s basketball at North Dakota State has a tremendous history and championship tradition,” Collins said. “You always want to be at a place where the expectations are as high as your own. I’m so excited for the opportunity to help return NDSU women’s basketball to the status the fan base deserves.”
Collins earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Emporia State in 2002 and a master’s degree in science in school leadership from Emporia State in 2006.
https://gobison.com/news/2019/4/29/jory-collins-named-ndsu-womens-basketball-head-coach.aspx
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