AMHERST, N.Y. -- Daemen University women's basketball head coach
Jenepher Banker and men's basketball head coach
Mike MacDonald have been named the
2024-25 Basketball Coaches Association of New York, Inc. (BCANY) Division II Coaches of the Year, the organization released this summer. The BCANY is a service organization with membership open to any basketball coach at any level in New York State from high school, Division I, II-III and Junior College levels with the goal to provide services to fellow coaches, players and the game of basketball in general.
In her ninth season at the helm of the women's basketball program, Banker led the Wildcats to finish the 2024-25 season with a 22-8 overall record while collecting their sixth straight East Coast Conference regular season title after going 15-1 in ECC play en route to winning the program's fifth ECC Tournament title in six years. After topping Molloy (62-44) in the conference semifinals and No. 2 seed Staten Island (76-68) in the ECC Championship game, the Wildcats punched their ticket to the 64-team NCAA Division II Tournament for the sixth straight season. The second-seeded Wildcats advanced to the East Region semifinals after routing No. 7 seed Jefferson 70-48 in the first round of the tournament. Daemen's season came to an end at the hands of #22 Holy Family in the regional semifinals (68-55). Banker was named the 2024-25 ECC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year by her peers in the conference for the fourth time in her career.
Under the leadership of MacDonald in his 11th season as head coach of the men's basketball team, Daemen put together their best season in program history in 2024-25, setting a program record for single-season wins with 28 after going 28-1 and spending four weeks ranked as the No. 1 team in the NABC poll for the first time in program history. The Wildcats collected their first ECC Championship in program history with an 88-80 win over St. Thomas Aquinas. Daemen's 28 game winning streak was the longest this season of any Division I, II or III men's basketball team across the nation and set a new program record for consecutive wins. The 'Cats 28 wins also marked the seventh consecutive full season that they earned 20-or-more wins, the longest active streak of any Western New York school. Daemen became the fourth school in ECC history to finish the regular season undefeated after posting a 25-0 record, winning by an average of 22.6 points. The Wildcats claimed their third ECC regular season title, hosted the ECC Tournament in Lumsden Gymnasium for the first time in program history and also hosted the 2025 NCAA East Regional at home. Daemen topped No. 8 seed Bridgeport 80-68 in the regional quarterfinals but fell to No. 5 seed and ECC rival St. Thomas Aquinas (79-74) in the regional semifinals to end their Cinderella season. Named the 2024-25 ECC Men's Basketball Head Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, MacDonald also earned the 2024-25 CollegeInsiders.com Clarence Gaines Division II Coach of the Year honor this season.
| Division |
Women's |
Men's |
| Division I |
Becky Burke, University at Buffalo |
Rick Pitino, St. John's University |
| Division II |
Jenepher Banker, Daemen University |
Mike MacDonald, Daemen University |
| Division III |
Meg Barber, NYU |
Dave Klatsky, NYU |
| Junior College |
Jason Bonde, Rochester CTC |
Harley Fuller, Mohawk Valley |
Daemen 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.
