By AJ Nelson, WHoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 8 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 8 winners are:
NCAA DI: Bill Fennelly – Iowa State University
Coach Fennelly guided Iowa State to two conference victories this week, including a historic defeat of one of the nation’s top teams. The Cyclones shot 16-33 from three en route to a 90-80 home win over Oklahoma State before traveling to Waco to take on No. 6 Baylor. The Cyclones emerged with a 75-71 victory, snapping Baylor’s 61-game home winning streak – which was tied for the 10th longest in Division I women’s basketball history. This huge win moved Iowa State into the AP Top-25 rankings, as they now sit at No. 24 with a record of 9-4 (5-1 Big 12). They return to face off against Oklahoma this evening.
NCAA DII: Meagan Price – Tusculum University
In her first season at the helm, Coach Price has Tusculum off to the best start in program history. The 10th-ranked Pioneers defeated Mars Hill by a score of 69-46 on Wednesday, tying the 1994-95 team’s record for the best ever start to a season at 8-0. They broke the record on Saturday, as they jumped out to a 35-point halftime lead on the way to a 92-51 victory over Coker. Tusculum will look to make it 10 straight to begin the season when the take on Carson-Newman at home on Wednesday evening.
NCAA DIII: Rodney Rogan – Rhodes College
Coach Rogan’s high-powered offense set numerous records this week as Rhodes kicked off their season with a pair of victories. In their season opener, the Lynx defeated Birmingham-Southern 118-85, setting new program and conference records for most points scored in a game. In a rematch with Birmingham-Southern the following day, Rhodes broke the records they just set, scoring 133 points in a game in which they actually trailed at the half. In addition to the single-game points records, the victory also marked the first time in program history that the Lynx scored 100 or more points in back to back contests. Now 2-0 (2-0 SAA) on the season, Rhodes will look to continue their offensive dominance when they take on Centre College on the road in a two-game series this weekend.
NAIA: Jamie Sale – Morningside College
This week was one to remember for Coach Sale, as he began it by picking up his 600th career win and capped it off with a last-second victory. 11th-ranked Morningside held off a relentless comeback attempt from Briar Cliff to take a 76-69 victory on Wednesday, marking win No. 600 in the career of Coach Sale. Coincidentally, Sale began his head coaching career at Briar Cliff, where he went 79-20 in three seasons. He is now the 5th active NAIA women’s Head Coach with at least 600 victories. Coach Sale’s squad followed up this milestone win by hitting a lay-up with just over one second remaining to take a 66-64 road victory against Concordia on Saturday. The Mustangs are now 15-2 (13-1 GPAC) on the season. They face off against Dordt in a road contest on Wednesday.
JUCO: No week 8 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
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
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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