AMHERST, N.Y. -- Daemen University men's basketball head coach Mike MacDonald has been named the 2026 Harry Statham Coach of Impact Award Winner from Small College Basketball, the organized announced over the weekend. Now in its seventh year, the prestigious award is given to a coach each year that makes a meaningful difference both on and off the court. 

The annual winner of the Harry Statham Coach of Impact Award must have coached at the small college level for a majority of his career, and must have a high degree of personal character and integrity. The Coach may be a current or former Coach, and Small College Basketball will honor a living Coach with this award annually. Last season, Greg Tonagel of Indiana Wesleyan received the award.

"I'm proud to select Mike MacDonald as the next recipient of the Harry Statham Coach of Impact Award," stated Harry Statham in a press release on Small College Basketball. "He is a man of honesty, integrity, and great character.  He genuinely cares for his players, both present & past.  He's a remarkable family man and highly regarded member of his community."

The award is named after Harry Statham, former Head Basketball Coach at McKendree University. Coach Statham is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Basketball Hall of Fame. Upon the conclusion of his 52-year career at McKendree, Coach Statham's 1,122 wins were the most by any men's or women's coach at a four-year college or university in the United States The only other coaches at a four-year institution with 1,000 wins are Pat Summitt, Danny Miles, Mike Krzyzewski, Herb Magee, Dave Holmquist, Tara VanDerveer, Geno Auriemma and Sylvia Hatchell.

A staple in collegiate men's basketball in Western New York who has served as a head coach in all three NCAA Divisions over the past three decades, MacDonald served as the bench boss for the Wildcats for the past 12 seasons. Under his leadership, Daemen compiled an impressive 285-86 overall record and a 161-40 record in East Coast Conference play since joining the Daemen staff in 2014.

MacDonald also led the Wildcats to the USCAA Division I National Championship (2014-15), six NCAA Division II Tournament berths (2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025, 2026), three ECC regular season championships (2018-19, 2024-25, 2025-26), two ECC Tournament titles (2025, 2026), two NCAA Division II East Region Championships (2021, 2026) and two trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight (2021, 2026). As a head coach, MacDonald has a career record of 522-312. 

Most recently, MacDonald and the Wildcats put together a historic run for the ages, totaling a 61-3 record over the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. Daemen catapulted to the top of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) national polls in the 2024-25 season, earning the program's first ever No. 1 national ranking after going undefeated during the regular season for the first time in program history and finished with a 28-1 record in the NCAA Division II East Region semifinals. The Wildcats rebounded from their early exit from the previous postseason, posting a 33-2 record during the 2025-26 season, including their second straight undefeated ECC regular season, and won the East Region title for the second time in program history after cruising through the regional tournament with victories of 111-78 (vs. #8 seed Goldey-Beacom), 85-62 (vs. #5 seed Saint Michael's) and 94-68 (vs. #3 seed Saint Anselm in the regional championship) to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost in a three-point heartbreaker, 74-77, to #5 seed Lander on March 25. Daemen's only two losses in 2025-26 came at the hands of Gannon and Lander, who played each other for the Division II National Championship on Sunday. 

In his 12-year tenure at Daemen, MacDonald has earned the Clarence "Big House" Gaines Award presented by collegeinsiders.com to the top Division II men's basketball coach, has been named the ECC Coach of the Year three times, coached three consensus All-Americans (Andrew Sischo in 2021 and 2022, Benjamin Bill in 2025, Zach Philipkoski in 2026) and coached 41 ECC All-Conference players and 12 ECC major award winners.

Arguably the greatest impact of MacDonald's career has been seen and felt through his basketball camps. A consistent throughout his career and most recently through the MacDonald Basketball Academy, MacDonald has exposed countless youths to the game of basketball. During a typical summer camp, more than 300 kids pack into Daemen's Lumsden Gymnasium. MacDonald's camps do not just take place during the summer, he has camps and clinics throughout the fall weekends. Camps go by the name of Little Dribblers, Middle Dribblers, and Sunday School.

MacDonald has consistently demonstrated an ability to give back to his community. Game Changers, a program he developed alongside Buffalo's longtime Mayor Byron Brown and the local Drug Enforcement Agency Office, uses basketball as a means to provide academic and athletic opportunities in underserved communities. In 2020, MacDonald received the Jim Satalin Inspiration Award from the American Cancer Society of Western New York in recognition of his dedication and work on behalf of the Coaches vs. Cancer program.

The Harry Statham Coach of Impact Award will be awarded to MacDonald at the Small College Basketball National Awards Show on April 26 in Kansas City, MO.