Two local college coaches to be introduced next week
By Calvin Silvers
The college basketball scene on both the men’s and women’s side has been prominent not only in the MIAA Conference, but the entirety of Division II here locally, as both Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western have been powerhouses.
On the men’s side, Northwest was led by Ben McCollum, the first five-time NABC Division II National Coach of the Year and a seven-time MIAA Coach of the Year. Over the past eight seasons, McCollum has guided Northwest to a mark of 253-21 and four NCAA Division II national championships (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022).
Looking at the women’s game, Missouri Western was led by Candi Whitaker, who led the Griffons to three seasons with 20+ wins, including a 2021-22 season where Western won the Central Region Championship, which gave them an appearance in the Elite 8.
This offseason, both teams will undergo change as both head coaches have found new homes. For McCollum, he became the main man at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, while Whitaker became the leader at the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama.
This upcoming week, both new eras will begin in Maryville and St. Joseph, as Northwest Missouri State’s new coach Matt Keeley and Missouri Western’s new coach Ashton Feldhaus will formally be introduced.
Northwest’s introductory press conference for Keeley will be held on Wednesday, April 24, beginning at 11 a.m. The press conference will be held in the Harr Athletic Success Center on the lower level of Lamkin Activity Center (Bearcat Arena).
The event will be live streamed on The MIAA Network.
Western’s introductory press conference for Feldhaus will be held on Monday, April 22nd, beginning at 12 p.m. The introductory press conference will be held in the Hall of Fame Room at Spratt Memorial Stadium.
The event is open to the public and will be broadcast live on The MIAA Network.
