By AJ Nelson, WHoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 15 WHoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by Pivot Analysis. These coaches are now eligible to receive the WHoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award presented by Pivot Analysis which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2020-21 college basketball season.
This is the second season that HoopDirt.com and Pivot Analysis have run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. This season’s weekly winners, and COY winners can be found following this weeks honorees.
This season will be a bit different, however. As college basketball adjusts to life with COVID, so will we. Not every level will be honored on a weekly basis – we will honor as many of the levels as possible provided enough games are played. It’s different than in the past, but we still hope to have enough weekly winners at each level to name a Coach of the Year (NCAA DI, D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCO) at the end of the season
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 15 winners are:
NCAA DI: Mark Kellogg – Stephen F. Austin State University
With two more wins this past week, Coach Kellogg’s squad completed the regular season with a perfect record in conference play. On Wednesday, the Ladyjacks outscored Abilene Christian 46-22 in the second half en route to an 82-55 victory. In Saturday’s season finale, SFA picked up a 69-57 road win over Sam Houston State to close out the campaign with a record of 22-2 (14-0 Southland). The Ladyjacks now await a semifinal matchup in the Southland Tournament on Saturday.
NCAA DII: Buffie Burson – University of North Georgia
Coach Burson guided North Georgia to a pair of massive victories to capture the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship this week. In Wednesday’s semifinal matchup, the Nighthawks – ranked No. 6 in the country at the time – shot 31-33 from the free throw line on the way to a 106-81 triumph over Clayton State. This win set up a showdown with unbeaten No. 2 Lander in the championship game. Lander led by as many as 14 in the first half, but a 14-25 performance from three brought North Georgia back into the game and pushed the Nighthawks to a thrilling 72-70 upset victory. North Georgia, now ranked No. 2 in the latest WBCA Coaches’ Poll, is a 1-seed in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. The Nighthawks await the winner of Montevallo and Union’s first round matchup.
NCAA DIII: Brian Niemuth – Simpson College
Coach Niemuth led Simpson to a victory over a top-five opponent in a double-overtime thriller to close out the regular season unbeaten this week. The Storm, who entered the week ranked No. 10 in the D3hoops.com Top-15 rankings, knocked down a pair of free throws with no time remaining to force overtime at No. 4 Wartburg on Monday. It then took 10 minutes of extra time, but freshman Regan Freland drained a last-second three to give Simpson a huge 81-80 victory. Now ranked No. 7 in the latest poll, the 9-0 (8-0 ARC) Storm will look to stay perfect when they take on Luther in the American Rivers Conference quarterfinals tonight.
NAIA: Tracy Stewart-Lange – Lyon College
Coach Stewart-Lange’s squad captured the American Midwest Conference Tournament title for the first time since the 2015-16 season this week. The Scots, who were ranked No. 18 in the final edition of the NAIA Coaches’ Top-25 Poll, ran through the first two rounds of the AMC Tournament last week, setting up a matchup with Columbia in the championship game. Lyon came away with a 66-56 victory to capture the title and enter the NAIA National Tournament on a six-game winning streak. The 13-1 (10-1 AMC) Scots take on Reinhardt in the opening round of the National Tournament on Friday.
JUCO: Missy Bilderback – Jones College
Coach Bilderback’s Bobcats survived a scare this week to remain unbeaten on the season. After beginning the week by defeating East Central 70-49, No. 2 Jones found themselves trailing Southwest Mississippi by 14 in the third quarter on Thursday. The Bobcats proceeded to use a 19-0 run to take the lead and never look back, coming away with a 58-44 victory to keep their perfect season intact. Jones then defeated Meridian yesterday to move to 11-0 (9-0 MACCC) on the season.
2020-21 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Mike Carey – West Virginia University
NCAA DII: Nate Vogel – Texas A&M International University
NCAA DIII: No week 1 winner awarded
NAIA: Jessie Biggs – Indiana Institute of Technology
JUCO: No week 1 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Adia Barnes – University of Arizona
NCAA DII: Jason Williams – Belmont Abbey College (NC)
NCAA DIII: Blake Arbogast – East Texas Baptist University
NAIA: Krista Van Hauen – St. Ambrose University (IA)
JUCO: No week 2 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Amy Vachon – University of Maine
NCAA DII: Lora Westling – Western Colorado University
NCAA DIII: Polly Thomason – University of Texas Dallas
NAIA: Megan Leuzinger – Evangel University (MO)
JUCO: No week 3 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Aaron Johnston – South Dakota State University
NCAA DII: Tanya Haave – Metropolitan State University of Denver
NCAA DIII: No week 4 winner awarded
NAIA: Ginger High Colvin – Campbellsville University (KY)
JUCO: No week 4 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
NCAA DII: No winner – mandatory DII winter break
NCAA DIII: No week 5 winner awarded
NAIA: Jeff Hans – Thomas More University (KY)
JUCO: No week 5 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Kyra Elzy – University of Kentucky
NCAA DII: No week 6 winner awarded
NCAA DIII: Cassi Rozanski – LeTourneau University (TX)
NAIA: Grady Morrell – Webber International University (FL)
JUCO: No week 6 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Seton Sobolewski – Idaho State University
NCAA DII: Carrie Eighney – University of Nebraska Kearney
NCAA DIII: No week 7 winner awarded
NAIA: Courtney Boyd – Clarke University (IA)
JUCO: No week 7 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Bill Fennelly – Iowa State University
NCAA DII: Meagan Price – Tusculum University (TN)
NCAA DIII: Rodney Rogan – Rhodes College (TN)
NAIA: Jamie Sale – Morningside College (IA)
JUCO: No week 7 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Jeff Walz – University of Louisville
NCAA DII: Kim Stephens – Glenville State College (WVa)
NCAA DIII: Katherine Menendez – Colorado College
NAIA: Katie Gearlds – Marian University (IN)
JUCO: Chad Gibney – Western Nebraska CC
NCAA DI: Lisa Fortier – Gonzaga University
NCAA DII: Kari Hoffman – Cedarville University (OH)
NCAA DIII: Beth Andrews – John Carroll University (OH)
NAIA: Kellie Kennedy – Loyola University – New Orleans
JUCO: Mercedes Corona – Arkansas State University Mid-South
NCAA DI: Jarrod Olson – Cal Baptist University
NCAA DII: Toby Winn – Emporia State University (KS)
NCAA DIII: Brian Morehouse – Hope College (MI)
NAIA: Ericka Stuckman – University of Mobile (AL)
JUCO: Karrie Redeker – Illinois Central College
NCAA DI: Geno Auriemma – UConn
NCAA DII: Jasmina Perazic – Georgian Court University (NJ)
NCAA DIII: Kent Madsen – Wheaton College (IL)
NAIA: K.C. Bassett – Sterling College (KS)
JUCO: Jim Turgeon – Independence College (KS)
NCAA DI: Katie Abrahamson-Henderson – Central Florida
NCAA DII: Emma Andrews – Cameron University (OK)
NCAA DIII: Darrin Travillian – Maryville College (TN)
NAIA: Kirsten Moore – Westmont College (CA)
JUCO: Mike Russell – Snow College (UT)
NCAA DI: Ronald Hughey – University of Houston
NCAA DII: Steve Gomez – Lubbock Christian University
NCAA DIII: Karin Harvey – Montclair State University (NJ)
NAIA: Tim Hays – Southeastern University (FL)
JUCO: Greg Franklin – Chipola College (FL)
2019-20 WHoopDirt.com / Pivot Analysis Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2019-20: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Division II
- 2019-20: Molly Miller – Drury University (MO)
Division III
- 2019-20: Jill Pace – Tufts University (MA)
NAIA
- 2019-20: Chris Nelson – Bethel University (TN)
JUCO
- 2019-20: Cayla Petree – South Plains College (TX)
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