Last week, HoopDirt.com ranked the NCAA DII men’s basketball coaching changes (NCAA DII Rankings). This week, we have focused our attention to the NCAA DIII hirings.
There were 42 NCAA DIII schools that made men’s basketball coaching changes this past off-season. HoopDirt.com has ranked the Top 5 hirings as well as honorable mentions – the complete list of 2015 NCAA DIII hirings can be found at the bottom of the page.
Here are HoopDirt.com’s Top 5 NCAA DIII hirings:
1. Andrew Sachs – Salisbury University 
A 1990 Salisbury alum, Andrew Sachs had spent the past six seasons as the head coach at DIII Bethany College (WVa). He replaces Josh Merkel who was hired as the head coach at Randolph-Macon. During his tenure at Bethany, he compiled a 117-49 record and left as the program’s all-time leader in winning percentage. Prior to becoming a DIII head coach, he spent five seasons as the top assistant to Ralph Willard at Holy Cross. During his tenure, the Crusaders played in four Patriot League Championship games. Sachs started his career as an assistant at Salisbury, and has also had stops at Indiana (PA) and Virginia Wesleyan. Salisbury is coming off of a 21-win season and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Sachs brings the veteran experience and poise to keep Sea Gulls on the right track. He is already hitting it hard on the recruiting trail, and appears to have a solid group of returners in place.
2. Matt Goldsmith – The College of New Jersey
After averaging just over nine wins per season over the past nine years, TCNJ was looking for a winner – and it appears the have found one in Matt Goldsmith. The NJ native has had tremendous success as an assistant at his alma mater Amherst over the the past three seasons In his first season on the coaching staff in 2012-13, Goldsmith helped guide Amherst to a 30-2 record and the second national title in program history. The following season, the Jeffs made their fifth appearance in the Final Four and boasted a season mark of 27-4. This past winter, Amherst went 21-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA championship tournament. Following his graduation, Goldsmith played professionally in Germany, and has spent time as a volunteer assistant coach for USA Basketball during the past two summers.
3. Justin Potts – Moravian College
It’s not easy to replace a coach who has been on the job for 35 years (and won 440 games), but it looks like Moravian has made a great choice in turning to Justin Potts. The 2000 Moravian graduate not only played for recently retired Jim Walker, but he spent two years on his staff after graduation. In 2002, he became an assistant at DII East Stroudsburg University (PA), and had spent the past 13-seasons there, serving the past five as the associate head coach. During his time at ESU, he was part of Jeff Wilson’s staff that won 232 games (including 30 wins in 2013-14). Potts is known for his strong recruiting ties in the area, and should be able to have a ton of success at his alma mater.
4. Bob Simmons – Allegheny College
Allegheny has won just 38 games in the past five years, so they decided to turn to veteran coach Bob Simmons to turn things around. Prior to spending the last two seasons as the head coach at DIII Marywood University, Simmons worked for Billy Taylor as an assistant at Both Ball State (2007-13) and Lehigh (2002-07). He also spent two seasons (2000-02) as the head coach at Delaware Valley, and worked as an assistant at Lebanon Valley. Marywood had won just six games the season before Simmons was hired. He then increased the win total by four each season, finishing with a 14-11 record this past year.
5. Aaron Goodman – Washington College (MD)
After winning just thirteen games over the past three seasons, Washington College now looks to long-time Navy assistant Aaron Goodman to turn things around. Over the past nine years, Goodman has recruited the Mid-Atlanic hard while worked for both Ed DeChellis and Billy Lange at Navy. He is also no stranger to DIII, having spent four seasons as an assistant at Marymount (VA). A Maryland native, Goodman also spent the past three seasons as the head coach of Navy’s development team. It sounds like Goodman was left with a strong incoming class, and should be able to build on that as he begins to turn the program around.
Honorable Mention: Jason Harris (UMass-Boston), Tom Heil (Baldwin-Wallace), Josh Merkel (Randolph-Macon), Shawn Postiglione (Bridgewater), Travis Schwab (Muskingum), Ethan Stewart-Smith (Washington & Jefferson).
Here is the complete list of 2015 NCAA DIII Coaching Changes:
SCHOOL
OLD COACH
NEW COACH
Allegheny (PA)
Jim Driggs
Bob Simmons
Baldwin Wallace
Duane Shelton
Tom Heil
Blackburn (IL)
Jason Baribeau
Steve Kollar
Bridgewater (VA)
Don Burgess
Shawn Postiglione
College of New Jersey (N.J.)
Kelly Williams
Matt Goldsmith
Concordia Chicago (lL)
Tyler Jones
Randy Rogers
Curry
Malcolm Wynn
Matt LeVangie
Defiance College
Tom Heil
Scott Cutter
Fontbonne (MO)
Anthony Hall
Lance Thornhill
Galluadet
Aaron Goodman
Kevin Kovacs
Goucher (MD)
Leonard Trevino
Tom Rose
Hood College
Tom Dickman
Chad Dickman
Hunter (NY)
Shay Berry
John Pelin
Johnson State (VT)
Tommy Verdell
Miles Smith, Jr.
Keene State
Rob Colbert
Ryan Cain
Louisiana College
Gene Rushing
Reni Mason
Manchester (IN)
Brad Nadborne
Gerad Good
Marywood (PA)
Bob Simmons
Enrico Mastroianni
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Jamie Morrison
Tony Skiffington (INTERIM)
McMurry (TX)
Cliff Carroll
Zach Pickelman
Misericordia (PA)
Trevor Woodruff
Willie Chandler (INTERIM)
Montclair State (NJ)
Ted Fiore
Marlon Sears
Moravian (PA)
Jim Walker
Justin Potts
Muskingum (OH)
Gene Ford
Travis Schwab
Otterbein (OH)
Todd Adrian
Brian Oilar
Penn College (PA)
Chris Lemasters
Ryan Callahan
Penn State Abington
Chris Potash
Jon Tanous
Penn State Altoona
Billy Clapper
Doug West
Randolph-Macon
Nathan Davis
Josh Merkel
Rockford (IL)
Ryan Rebsom
Andrew Weber
Saint John's (MN)
Jim Smith
Pat McKenzie
Salisbury (MD)
Josh Merkel
Andy Sachs
Simpson (IA)
Charles Zanders
Brad Bjorkgren
Sul Ross State (TX)
Greg Wright
Clif Carroll
SUNY Purchase
Jeff Charney
Kyle Martin
UMass-Boston
Charlie Titus
Jay Harris
Washington & Jefferson (Pa.)
Glenn Gutierrez
Ethan Stewart-Smith
Washington College (MD)
Rob Nugent
Aaron Goodman
Wesley College
Jerry Kobasa
Dean Burrows
Western New England
Mike Theulen
Colin Tabb
Wheelock College
Matt LeVangie
Mike Pollio
York (NY)
Ronald St. John
Antoine Morris (INTERIM)
The post Ranking the 2015 NCAA DIII Coaching Changes appeared first on HoopDirt.