By AJ Nelson, WHoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 4 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. Last 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 4 winners are:
NCAA DI: Aaron Johnston – South Dakota State University
Coach Johnston led the Jackrabbits to another victory over a ranked opponent this week, marking their third on the season. South Dakota State opened the week with an 87-73 win over Drake before traveling to take on No. 20 Missouri State on Saturday. The Jackrabbits fought off a late run to secure a 60-52 victory and improve to 5-2 on the season. Now with victories over three top-20 teams, SDSU concludes their two game road trip against Montana State today in their penultimate non-conference match-up.
NCAA DII: Tanya Haave – Metropolitan State University of Denver
Coach Haave guided MSU Denver to a pair of closely contested victories this week, winning the two games by a combined three points. The Roadrunners trailed by as many as 10 in the third quarter of Tuesday’s match-up against Colorado Christian, but rallied back and held on for a 57-56 triumph. Just two days later, MSU Denver found themselves in another tight contest, this time against South Dakota Mines. Again, the Roadrunners were able to come away with a victory, winning 64-62 to push their record to 3-3 (2-2 RMAC) on the season. MSU Denver is back in action on January 2nd when they face off against Adams State at home.
NCAA DIII: No week 4 winner awarded
NAIA: Ginger High Colvin – Campbellsville University (KY)
This week, Coach High Colvin’s squad showed why they are receiving first place votes in the latest Coaches’ Top-25 Poll, winning two more contests to remain unbeaten on the season. The Lady Tigers began conference play against #14 Bethel on Monday, coming away with a 70-43 blowout victory in which they forced 31 turnovers. In their next matchup, Campbellsville used a late run to pull away from Pikeville and take an 84-74 road win to move to 6-0 (2-0 Mid-South) on the season. The Lady Tigers will look to stay hot when they take on Cumberland on New Year’s Eve.
JUCO: No week 4 winner awarded
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
2020-21 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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WHoopDirt.com is the largest website in the country dedicated specifically to women’s college basketball coaching news, jobs, and rumors at all levels. WHoopDirt.com brings a unique insider perspective to the world of college basketball coaching – it was founded by college coaches as a way to help the college basketball community stay informed of what is going on in the coaching profession.
