Story: Adam Nelson (@HD_DirtKing)
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 2023-24 college basketball season.
This is the fifth season that WHoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list of 2023-24 Coach of the Week winners, as well as previous Coach of the Year winners can be found below this week’s recipients.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 15 winners are:
D1: Mark Kellogg – University of West Virginia
Weekly record (overall): 2-0 (22-3)
Past week’s results: 77-52 W at TCU, 70-66 W vs #23 Oklahoma
Highlights: #24 West Virginia opened the week on the road on Tuesday, where they dominated TCU in the paint outscoring them 50-18 on their way to a 77-52 blowout victory. On Saturday, the Mountaineers trailed by 1 entering the 4th quarter, but battled back to upset Big 12 leaders #23 Oklahoma 70-66. The win vs OU was their second over a ranked opponent this season, and it ended the Sooners’ nine-game conference winning streak. WVU has now pulled to with in a game of first place in the Big 12 at 11-3, and are 13-1 at home on the season.
NCAA D2: Beth Jillison – Texas Woman’s University
Weekly record (overall): 2-0 (24-3)
Past week’s results: 91-85 W at #25 TAMIU, 62-59 W at Texas A&M Kingsville
Highlights: Two more Lone Star Conference wins on the road last week for TWU has pushed their league record to 18-1, and moved their winning streak to 14 games. The #9 Pioneers 91-85 win vs #25 TAMIU on Thursday was their fifth win against a Top 25 opponent this season. TWU found themselves down 8 at the half on Saturday at Kingsville, but clawed back into the game thanks to a 21-9 3rd quarter. They then knocked down two FT’s with five seconds left to take a 3 point lead and hold on for the 62-59 win.
NCAA D3: Jenna Cosgrove – Rhode Island College
Weekly record (overall): 2-0 (25-0)
Past week’s results: 83-30 W vs East Conn, 91-51 W at Keene State
Highlights: With two wins last week, NCAA D3 #3 Rhode Island College capped off the first undefeated regular season in program history (25-0). This is the fourth straight season that Cosgrove and RIC have captured the LEC regular season title, and they are now 109-15 since 2019. On the season, the Anchorwomen have outscored their opponents by 28.1 ppg and outrebounded the opposition by 12.9 per game. They will host the winner of the LEC 4/5 game on Thursday as they look to keep their perfect season going.
NAIA: Steve Brooks – Marian University
Weekly record (overall): 2-0 (25-1)
Past week’s results: 76-67 W at Bethel (IN), 76-60 W vs St. Francis (IN)
Highlights: Back on November 4th, Marian lost to #17 Concordia (Neb) 75-62 to fall to 2-1 on the season. In the nearly four months since that loss, they have reeled off 23 straight victories and now sit at 25-1 in the season and are ranked as the #2 team in the country in the latest NAIA poll. Marian, who currently leads the NAIA with a 52.6 shooting percentage, sits atop the Crossroads League standings at 16-0.
JUCO: Rich Cooper – Rowan College South Jersey – Gloucester
Weekly record (overall): 2-0 (19-2)
Past week’s results: 61-48 W at Anne Arundel, 53-46 W at Montgomery County
Highlights: Cooper’s squad began the 2023-24 season by dumping their first two games, and were 0-2 on November 5th. Since then, the NJCAA D3 #13 Roadrunners have been as hot as any team in the country as they have ripped off 19 straight wins to run their record to 19-2, and captured the Garden State Athletic Conference regular season championship. On the season, the Roadrunners are allowing just 43.7 points per game, and only 39.8ppg in conference play.
NCAA DI: Larry Vickers – Norfolk State University
NCAA DII: Megan Dzikas – Florida Southern College
NCAA DIII: Meg Barber – NYU
NAIA: Bill Harmsen – Dordt University
JUCO: MJ Baker – Northwest Florida State College
NCAA DI: Nicki Collen – Baylor University
NCAA DII: John Nakpodia – University of District Columbia
NCAA DIII: Christin Gowan – McDaniel College
NAIA: Jeff Nickel – Georgetown College (KY)
JUCO: Kori Stephenson – Mesa CC
NCAA DI: Wes Moore – North Carolina State
NCAA DII: Tom Shirley – Thomas Jefferson University
NCAA DIII: Juli Fulks – Transylvania University
NAIA: Ginger High Colvin – Campbellsville University
JUCO: Erika Harris – Moberly Area CC
NCAA DI: Joye Lee-McNelis – Southern Miss
NCAA DII: Anna Kowalska – Wheeling University
NCAA DIII: Kelly Thompson – Roger Williams University
NAIA: DeWitte Mandley – Wiley University
JUCO: Mike Helmer – Butler Community College
NCAA DI: Jason Burton – University of North Texas
NCAA DII: Will Brown – College of St. Rose
NCAA DIII: Kate Vlahakis – Manhattanville College
NAIA: Ethan Whaley – Indiana Wesleyan University
JUCO: Bob McKinley – Weatherford College
NCAA DI: Anthony Bozzella – Seton Hall
NCAA DII: Kurt Westendorp – Ferris State University
NCAA DIII: Hannah Iverson – UW-Stout
NAIA: Kevin Herod – Langston University
JUCO: Darryl Watkins – Rock Valley College
Week 7
NCAA DI: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NCAA DII: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NCAA DIII: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NAIA: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
JUCO: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NCAA DI: Cori Close – UCLA
NCAA DII: Mike Williams – Grand Valley State University
NCAA DIII: Randi Henderson – Washington University in St. Louis
NAIA: Dennis Hutter – Mayville State
JUCO: Jamarra Robinson – Indian River State College
NCAA DI: Kenny Brooks – Virginia Tech
NCAA DII: Cleve Wright – Gannon University
NCAA DIII: KJ Krasco – Middlebury College
NAIA: Jeff Soderquist – John Brown University
JUCO: Marbely Montas – Union College
NCAA DI: Jesyka Burks-Wiley – Florida International University
NCAA DII: Ann Hancock – Wingate University
NCAA DIII: Brian Morehouse – Hope College
NAIA: Tony Campbell – Reinhardt University
JUCO: Brock Kimball – Cisco College
NCAA DI: Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
NCAA DII: Molly Martin – Regis University
NCAA DIII: Aby Diop – Dickinson College
NAIA: Chad Folsom – Benedictine College
JUCO: Mike Seney – CCBC Essex
NCAA DI: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
NCAA DII: Trent May – Southern Nazarene University
NCAA DIII: Peg Swadener – Willamette University
NAIA: Alico Dunk – Stillman College
JUCO: Rory Kuhn – Gulf Coast State
NCAA DI: Carla Berube – Princeton University
NCAA DII: Kiera Wooden – West Chester University
NCAA DIII: Ben O’Brien – University of Scranton
NAIA: Hannah Moeller – Mid-America Christian University
JUCO: Riley Maye – Harcum College
NCAA DI: Lisa Fortier – Gonzaga University
NCAA DII: Tyreece Brown – Fayetteville State
NCAA DIII: Jordan Olufson – Webster University
NAIA: Kyle Blankenship – LSU Shreveport
JUCO: Kim Muhl – Kirkwood Community College
Previous WHoopDirt.com / Pivot Analysis Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2022-23: Kenny Brooks – Virginia Tech University
- 2021-22: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
- 2020-21: Adia Barnes – University of Arizona
- 2019-20: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Division II
- 2022-23: Kari Pickens – Ashland University
- 2021-22: Kim Stephens – Glenville State College
- 2020-21: Steve Gomez – Lubbock Christian University
- 2019-20: Molly Miller – Drury University
Division III
- 2022-23: Juli Fulks – Transylvania University
- 2021-22: Brian Morehouse – Hope College
- 2020-21: Brian Morehouse – Hope College
- 2019-20: Jill Pace – Tufts University
NAIA
- 2022-23: Courtney Boyd – Clarke University
- 2021-22: Jeff Hans – Thomas More College
- 2020-21: Kirsten Moore – Westmont College
- 2019-20: Chris Nelson – Bethel University
JUCO
- 2022-23: Mike Seney – CCBC Essex
- 2021-22: Trenia Tillis Hoard – Tyler Junior College
- 2020-21: No winner named – COVID season
- 2019-20: Cayla Petree – South Plains College
