Coaching Carousel 2025

[Moorhead123]

In general, I would agree. But the fact that the Denver AD came from UMD has to be a large factor. I bet when they talked to Wieck, he steered them toward Tim.

Of course he did. Wieck gets a raise and takes out Moorhead coaches. Perfect scenario for Weick.

[NWFanatic]

Both to Iowa City.

Good news-only Sash & Williams are listed as assistants so far.

[Stanger86]

Of course he did. Wieck gets a raise and takes out Moorhead coaches. Perfect scenario for Weick.

And I wonder if Denver could see it as a potential combo deal to get Carson?

[Stanger86]

Good news-only Sash & Williams are listed as assistants so far.

I am going off of their Twitter bios.

[NWFanatic]

I am going off of their Twitter bios.

Ok-what about Jaran Richman?

[Stanger86]

Ok-what about Jaran Richman?

He still lists Drake at this point

[Augieholic]

And I wonder if Denver could see it as a potential combo deal to get Carson?

Carson, Kinseys, Jennison, JAMIR PRICE?!?!?! Build the whole plane out of Dragons

[IceBoxDragon]

Yes, it would be tough to lose Bergstrasser, but Moorhead is a pretty good D2 job so I would expect some quality candidates to apply. Spencer Bland would certainly be a quality replacement if he decides to stay and not go with to Denver.

I’m sure McCollum had many opportunities to move to D1 programs earlier, but wanted to find the best fit, which Drake obviously turned out to be. Margenthaller may have had D1 opportunities in the past, but the Mankato job may have been better than some of them.

This is where I have some concern. I think the leadership at MSUM has been pretty good lately, especially in athletics, and hopefully they could bring in another great coach. But I don't know how good of a job the MSUM basketball program is compared to others. Nemzek has had upgrades but there are better arenas in the NSIC, let alone D2, and the school always plays second fiddle to NDSU in terms of attention and media coverage.

That's not the case in other markets where the D2 school is the main athletic attraction. Dragons basketball is a good program because it was built up that way by Walthall and Bergstrasser successfully carried it on. Mike McFeely at the Forum even wrote a whole column about how it's a program that does more with less:

"There is some NIL cash in the Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. It's said men's basketball defending national champion Minnesota State Mankato is able to toss some not insignificant sums at top players for name, image and likeness.

Heck, for that matter there is NIL in the Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. St. John's is one of the generous members, it is said, able to attract football players to a program already deep in attractiveness for multiple reasons.

The rich get richer.

This would not be an issue at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

At that local institution, which plays in a fieldhouse opened 65 years ago and despite some aesthetic upgrades of which the school and athletic department can be proud looks largely like it opened 65 years ago, NIL and other modern enticements are only rumors.

And it's not just the modernities at which MSUM is short. Athletic budgets are not large, including those that cover recruiting.

Dragons coach Tim Bergstraser is not booking flights to other parts of the country in pursuit of talent, like Division I coaches. He is barely driving to nearby states, given budgetary restrictions. Instead, it's a lot of long-distance talking and recommendations from other coaches. Using his connections. Convincing kids to come to Moorhead to visit or for a camp and selling the school and the Fargo-Moorhead community.

Bergstraser makes it work with both high school players and transfers, as evidenced by MSUM's roster."

[Stanger86]

This is where I have some concern. I think the leadership at MSUM has been pretty good lately, especially in athletics, and hopefully they could bring in another great coach. But I don't know how good of a job the MSUM basketball program is compared to others. Nemzek has had upgrades but there are better arenas in the NSIC, let alone D2, and the school always plays second fiddle to NDSU in terms of attention and media coverage.

That's not the case in other markets where the D2 school is the main athletic attraction. Dragons basketball is a good program because it was built up that way by Walthall and Bergstrasser successfully carried it on. Mike McFeely at the Forum even wrote a whole column about how it's a program that does more with less:

"There is some NIL cash in the Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. It's said men's basketball defending national champion Minnesota State Mankato is able to toss some not insignificant sums at top players for name, image and likeness.

Heck, for that matter there is NIL in the Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. St. John's is one of the generous members, it is said, able to attract football players to a program already deep in attractiveness for multiple reasons.

The rich get richer.

This would not be an issue at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

At that local institution, which plays in a fieldhouse opened 65 years ago and despite some aesthetic upgrades of which the school and athletic department can be proud looks largely like it opened 65 years ago, NIL and other modern enticements are only rumors.

And it's not just the modernities at which MSUM is short. Athletic budgets are not large, including those that cover recruiting.

Dragons coach Tim Bergstraser is not booking flights to other parts of the country in pursuit of talent, like Division I coaches. He is barely driving to nearby states, given budgetary restrictions. Instead, it's a lot of long-distance talking and recommendations from other coaches. Using his connections. Convincing kids to come to Moorhead to visit or for a camp and selling the school and the Fargo-Moorhead community.

Bergstraser makes it work with both high school players and transfers, as evidenced by MSUM's roster."

The problem with being in a Division I market is people (like McFeely) look at most everything through a Division I lens. So sure, money is an issue.....compared to NDSU. But while they'e probably middle of the pack within the NSIC in most sports, they're not at the bottom either. I think I would be thrilled with MSUM's athletic budget, coming from SMSU.

[Moorhead123]

Moorhead is a good D2 job. It’s probably not the top D2 job, by any means, but it has some things going for it. There are definitely some other schools with bigger budgets and better facilities, but recent coaches have shown that you can win at Moorhead. Would be tough to see Bergstrasser go, but it’s part of the process and he has done great job there the past few years. I hope the next coach can continue the winning ways.

[Peacock]

D2 Upper Iowa Begins Zoom Interviews
I have heard that Zoom interviews are about to get underway at D2 Upper Iowa. Some of the names that I’ve heard here include South Dakota assistant Casey Kasperbauer, former Ft. Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack, and Northern Michigan associate head coach Keil Ganz. More as I hear it on this one.

https://hoopdirt.com/daily-dirt-3-31-25/

We got our guy - excited about this hire: https://uiupeacocks.com/news/2025/4/...asketball.aspx

[Stanger86]

Moorhead is a good D2 job. It’s probably not the top D2 job, by any means, but it has some things going for it. There are definitely some other schools with bigger budgets and better facilities, but recent coaches have shown that you can win at Moorhead. Would be tough to see Bergstrasser go, but it’s part of the process and he has done great job there the past few years. I hope the next coach can continue the winning ways.

Honestly, I still kinda think you are underselling it. They've gone to 8 of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments. Won 3 of the last 4 NSIC Tournaments. Two regular season overall titles and had four division titles. Sure, things can go south, it's not an automatic. Just ask Northwest and Northern. But I'd call it a Top 3 job in the NSIC.

[Stanger86]

We got our guy - excited about this hire: https://uiupeacocks.com/news/2025/4/...asketball.aspx

I feel like being the only of the three names in that HoopDirt rumor to be from Iowa likely gave him a leg up.

[Moorhead123]

Honestly, I still kinda think you are underselling it. They've gone to 8 of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments. Won 3 of the last 4 NSIC Tournaments. Two regular season overall titles and had four division titles. Sure, things can go south, it's not an automatic. Just ask Northwest and Northern. But I'd call it a Top 3 job in the NSIC.

Probably top 3-4 job. No doubt the Dragons have had tremendous success on the court the past 10-12 years.

[Stanger86]

Probably top 3-4 job. No doubt the Dragons have had tremendous success on the court the past 10-12 years.

Normally I'd have Northern in the Top 3, but Phillips dropped them out of the discussion for now. The clear Top 2 are Augustana and Mankato, in whichever order you desire.