Ottumwa, IA – Indian Hills Men's Basketball Head Coach Cole Dewey has been named the 2024-25 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Coach of the Year, announced by the conference office Monday morning.
In his first season at the helm of the program, Dewey has continued to lead the historic Indian Hills Men's Basketball program to national prominence. Under Dewey's tutelage, the Warriors have captured the NJCAA Region 11 and NJCAA North Central District Championships to secure a bid to the upcoming NJCAA DI Men's Basketball National Championship in Hutchinson, KS. With a 27-5 overall record on the year, the Warriors claimed the No. 3 overall seed in this year's postseason event.
"Coach of the Year in my eyes is a team award," stated Dewey. "It's been an honor watching this team grow closer and closer together through the ups and downs of a long season. Trey Rakes and Solon Ellis have worked tirelessly since the day they stepped foot on campus, and none of this is possible without them! Thank you to everyone else who plays a role in developing these young men all across the Indian Hills campus."
The Warriors have now claimed back-to-back ICCAC Coach of the Year honors and six of the last eight honors.
Throughout the 2024-25 campaign, Dewey commanded the Warriors to 10 wins over teams that appeared in the national rankings this year, including six wins in nationally ranked matchups. The Warriors have earned wins over teams from 10 different states and have lost just once in the team's last 17 outings.
Under Dewey, the Warriors have seen a number of accolades throughout the year. Indian Hills has racked up 16 ICCAC Athlete of the Week honors spread across 11 different individuals. Dewey was named the Week 5 Junior College HoopDirect.Com Coach of the Week back in December and has also been selected to the Silver Waves Media Elite 75 Power Lunch in San Antonio, TX April 3.
The upcoming trip to the national tournament is the 20th in program history for the Warriors, tied for sixth-most in NJCAA history. Indian Hills has squared off against five teams in the regular season that will compete in this year's national tournament. The Warriors are 4-2 on the year vs. those teams.
The trip to the national tournament is Dewey's fourth all-time with the Warriors after previously being a part of three consecutive national tournament berths as an assistant from 2015-18.
Along with Dewey's honor the Warriors racked up eight NJCAA All-Region 11 selections while sophomore Abdoulaye Fall (Dakar, Senegal/Cloud County) was named the ICCAC Player of the Year.
Read More: Fall Named ICCAC Player of the Year
Read More: Eight Named to NJCAA All-Region Team
The Warriors are set to tip-off at the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball National Championship Monday, March 24th at 8:00 PM against the winner of No. 14 Vincennes University (IN) and No. 19 Three Rivers College (MO).
To read more about the Warriors' bid to the national tournament, visit: Warriors Earn No. 3 Seed at NJCAA Tournament
Fans can catch all of the action live from the national tournament via the NJCAA Network with a paid subscription. GoHillsTV, the official streaming platform of Indian Hills Community College, will provide a free audio-only broadcast throughout the duration of the tournament.
For more information regarding the national tournament, including schedule, brackets, tickets, hotels, and more, visit: NJCAA DI MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP HOME
Fans can purchase their official Hutch Bound gear through March 17 via: HUTCH BOUND TEAM STORE
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