MacDonald Named HoopDirt.com Division II Coach of the Week

12/16/2025 9:28:00 AM

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen University's Mike MacDonald is the NCAA Division II recipient of the HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week Award, presented by Just Play Solutions.

MacDonald led Daemen to a pair of East Coast Conference road wins last week, as the No. 3 ranked Wildcats improved to 12-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. MacDonald has now guided the Wildcats to wins in 43 straight regular season games and 26 straight conference contests, with both streaks dating back to the 2023-24 season.

Friday's 83-65 win at Mercy was the 500th of MacDonald's 29-year head coaching career, which includes prior stints at Division I Canisius and Division III Medaille. He is one of only a handful of coaches to achieve at least 100 wins across all three NCAA divisions.

Back in action on Sunday, and playing without All-American center Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) who missed the game with an injury, MacDonald led Daemen to a 79-60 win at rival St. Thomas Aquinas, avenging the Spartans' win in last season's NCAA tournament. The Wildcats have won four of the last five meetings with STAC, including an 88-80 triumph in the final round of last season's ECC Championship.

Now in his 12th season at Daemen, MacDonald sports a 244-84 record and is a two-time ECC Coach of the Year. At the conclusion of last season, MacDonald was named the Clarence "Big House" Gaines Award recipient, presented by collegeinsiders.com to the NCAA Division II national coach of the year. MacDonald has led Daemen to two ECC regular season championships, one conference tournament title, five NCAA tournament berths and one NCAA regional crown. MacDonald's career record now stands at 501-310.

Additional recipients of the HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week announced today are Frank Martin of Massachusetts (NCAA Division I), Anthony Medina of St. Thomas (Texas) (NCAA Division III), Kevin Williamson of Dakota State (NAIA) and Joey Cantens of Daytona State (Junior College). All Coach of the Week honorees are now eligible for the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award, also presented by Just Play Solutions.

MacDonald will lead Daemen back into action when No. 22 Assumption visits Lumsden Gymnasium for a 12 p.m. tip-off tomorrow.

Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

Follow the Daemen University men's basketball program on Twitter and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.

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