Ottumwa, IA – In his first season at the helm of the Indian Hills Men's Basketball program, head coach Josh Sash has been tapped as the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) DI Coach of the Year, announced by the league office on Monday.
Sash helped guide the Warriors to a historic season in his first campaign as head coach in Ottumwa. The former Warrior assistant coach-turned-head coach guided the program to the NJCAA Region 11 Championship, the NJCAA North Central District Championship, and a No. 5 seed in the upcoming NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, KS, set to get underway March 26.
Under the direction of Sash, the Warriors posted a 27-5 overall record on their way to securing the program's 19th all-time trip to the national tournament. Indian Hills boasted a 4-0 record in ICCAC play while capturing the NJCAA Region 11 Championship after defeating Southeastern Community College in the title game, the team's third win over the Blackhawks this season.
Sash becomes just the fourth coach in the 63-year history of the program to capture both the NJCAA Region championship and the NJCAA District championship in his first year at the helm of the program. The Warriors defeated No. 20 nationally ranked North Dakota State College of Science on March 16 to secure its automatic bid to Hutchinson, the team's 17th all-time District title.
The Warriors' No. 5 seed in the upcoming tournament marks the program's fifth top-five seed in the tournament, and first since the program earned the No. 1 overall seed in the COVID 2019-20 season.
The 2023-24 season saw an unprecedented schedule for the Warriors, a slate Sash guided the program through with force from start to finish. The team boasted the most wins against nationally ranked opponents on the year with 15 victories and squared off against teams from 12 different states across the nation. The Warriors twice secured victories over the No. 3 ranked team in the nation, including a regular season finale win against No. 3 Triton on March 2, a 21-point victory.
Indian Hills posted a remarkable 19-1 mark at the Hellyer Center, the most home wins since the program won 21 in 2019-20. The Warriors also secured an 8-4 mark in true road games.
Sash becomes the program's second head coach to win the ICCAC Coach of the Year honor since the award was introduced at the start of the 2017-18 season.
Along with Sash's honor, sophomore Trevion LaBeaux (Waterloo, IA/Ames) was tapped as the ICCAC Player of the Year while seven individuals were named to the NJCAA All-Region 11 team.
READ MORE: LaBeaux Named ICCAC Player of the Year
READ MORE: Seven Named to NJCAA All-Region 11 Team
Sash and the Warriors are set for the upcoming NJCAA National Tournament where the team will play at 2:15 PM on Tuesday, March 26 against the winner of No. 5 seed Lee College (TX) and No. 21 seed Wallace State Community College (AL).
| ICCAC COACH OF THE YEAR | ||
| Year | Player | School |
| 2023-24 | Josh Sash | Indian Hills |
| 2022-23 | Lorenzo Watkins | Southeastern |
| 2021-22 | Hank Plona | Indian Hills |
| 2020-21 | Hank Plona | Indian Hills |
| 2019-20 | Hank Plona | Indian Hills |
| 2018-19 | Lorenzo Watkins | Southeastern |
| 2017-18 | Hank Plona | Indian Hills |
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