MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Darian DeVries, who led Drake to 6 consecutive 20-win seasons and has a profession .732 profitable proportion as a head coach, has been named the 23rd head males’s basketball coach at West Virginia College, Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker introduced right now.
“Coach DeVries is an exceptional basketball coach and a fair higher individual and possesses all of the qualities we desired within the subsequent chief of our males’s basketball program,” Baker mentioned. “His groups play laborious and good and are environment friendly on each ends of the ground. He has confirmed to be a powerful recruiter and developer of gamers however much more importantly, a pacesetter with integrity who develops character within the younger males he coaches.
“I do know that he and his spouse, Ashley, and their youngsters, Tucker and Tatum, will love and embrace West Virginians and West Virginians will love and embrace them. On behalf of the Mountaineer household, I need to welcome the DeVries household to Morgantown.”
DeVries spent the final six seasons at Drake, main the Bulldogs to a few Missouri Valley Convention (MVC) titles (two event and one common season) and three NCAA Event appearances. His document is 150-55 (.732) in six seasons as a head coach, together with a 55-15 (.786) mark within the final two seasons. DeVries posted a 78-33 (.703) document within the MVC.
DeVries was employed at Drake previous to the 2018-19 season and led the Bulldogs to 6 of the 11 20-wins seasons in program historical past.
DeVries agreed to a five-year take care of West Virginia College.
“I am honored to steer this historic program which has an excellent custom and passionate fanbase,” DeVries mentioned. “Gamedays within the WVU Coliseum are legendary, and the unimaginable assist for Mountaineer Basketball is thought nationwide. I look ahead to constructing on the success of this system.
“I want to thank President Gee and Wren Baker for extending me this excellent alternative. My household and I are honored and thrilled to be part of Mountaineer Nation. We now have heard so many nice issues about West Virginia and its individuals, and we will not wait to get there.”
This previous season, DeVries led Drake to a 28-7 document, capping the season with a MVC Event title and the Bulldogs’ third NCAA Event look within the final 4 years. Drake’s 28 victories this season are its most since recording 28 in 2008.
DeVries, a two-time MVC Coach of the Yr (2019 and 2021), is a finalist for this 12 months’s Hugh Durham Nationwide Coach of the Yr Award, given yearly to the highest mid-major head coach in faculty basketball.
In his first season as head coach at Drake, DeVries led the Bulldogs to a 24-10 document after inheriting a crew with the second-fewest returning letterwinners within the nation. He led the Bulldogs to their first common season MVC title since 2008 and this system’s 12th all-time postseason look, regardless of shedding a possible MVC Participant of the Yr candidate to a season-ending knee damage within the first sport of convention play. In his first season as a head coach, he was named MVC Coach of the Yr and obtained the Hugh Durham Nationwide Coach of the Yr Award.
DeVries made historical past in his second season at Drake, changing into the primary coach to steer an eight seed to a win excessive seed within the MVC Event, downing Northern Iowa, 77-56. The 2020 postseason was canceled after the UNI victory resulting from COVID-19. His Bulldogs received 20 video games, marking the primary time since 1971 this system had received 20 or extra video games in consecutive seasons.
In his third 12 months, DeVries led Drake to an 18-0 begin and an AP Prime 25 look. Regardless of shedding two of his high gamers to damage, he led Drake to its first at-large NCAA Event bid in years, and its first NCAA Event win in 50 years over Wichita State. He was named MVC Coach of the Yr for the second time in three years. Drake completed the season with a 26-5 document.
After main Drake to 25 victories in 2021-22 and a CBI quarterfinal look, DeVries led the Bulldogs again to the NCAA Event in 2022-23 and completed with a 27-8 document. Drake captured the 2023 MVC Event title for the primary time underneath DeVries.
Previous to Drake, DeVries was an assistant coach at Creighton for 17 years underneath Greg McDermott and Dana Altman. He joined Creighton as a graduate supervisor and spent 20 years at Creighton. Throughout his time there, he was a part of 19 postseason appearances and 12 NCAA Event bids. Creighton was 460-211 total and 231-129 in convention video games throughout DeVries’ tenure at Creighton.
DeVries is a 1998 graduate of Northern Iowa, the place he performed for coach Eldon Miller and ranks 31st all-time in profession scoring with 1,084 factors. He was a two-time MVC Scholar-Athlete Workforce choice and two-time crew captain. DeVries led the Panthers in 3-point taking pictures for 3 seasons and transformed on 44 % of his makes an attempt as a senior with 3.1 assists per sport.
A local of Aplington, Iowa, DeVries attended Aplington-Parkersburg Excessive (Iowa) and was inducted into the Iowa Excessive College Athletic Affiliation (IHSAA) Corridor of Corridor in 2015.
He’s the oldest of 5 siblings. His brother, Jared, was an All-American on the Iowa soccer crew and performed for the Detroit Lions for 12 seasons. One other brother, Dusty, additionally performed soccer at Iowa, whereas his youngest brother, Jay, performed soccer at Wartburg Faculty. His sister, Jodi, was an All-MVC Second-Workforce choice in volleyball at Northern Iowa.
DeVries and his spouse, Ashley, have a son, Tucker, and a daughter, Tatum. Tucker just lately grew to become the ninth-ever participant and first since Doug McDermott to win the Larry Fowl MVC Participant of the Yr trophy in back-to-back seasons whereas taking part in at Drake. He was additionally named an Related Press All-America Honorable Point out choice earlier this month.
Darian DeVries
Teaching File
Creighton
Graduate Supervisor
1998-99 to 2000-01
Creighton
Assistant Coach
2001-02 to 2017-18
Drake
Head Coach
2018-19 to 2023-24
West Virginia
Head Coach
2024-25
Head Teaching File
Season Workforce General Convention Standing Postseason
2018-19 Drake 24-10 12-6 T-1st CIT First Spherical
2019-20 Drake 20-14 8-10 8th Postseason Canceled
2020-21 Drake 26-5 15-3 2nd NCAA Spherical of 64
2021-22 Drake 25-11 13-5 T-2nd CBI Quarterfinals
2022-23 Drake 27-8 15-5 2nd NCAA Spherical of 64
2023-24 Drake 28-7 16-4 2nd NCAA Spherical of 64
Complete 150-55 (.732) 78-33 (.703)
Private
Excessive College
Aplington-Parkersburg Excessive, ’93
Faculty
Northern Iowa, ’98
Hometown
Aplington, Iowa
Birthday
April 7, 1975
Household
Spouse, Ashley
Youngsters, Tucker and Tatum