Men's Basketball Coaches
Kevin Schlagel
Head Men's Basketball Coach
Kevin Schlagel has been associated with the St. Cloud State basketball program for much of his adult life, first as a player, followed by 18 years as the top assistant, and then in 1997 being named the head coach of Husky Basketball.
It is appropriate that he became the winningest head coach in St. Cloud State men's basketball on Feb. 21, 2009 when he captured his 232nd career win in an 80-74 win at Minnesota, Crookston.
His pride in SCSU basketball is evident in his background and even more evident in the way in which he has led the program to success year after year. Schlagel’s teams have won 17 or more games in 12 seasons during his tenure and have been 20-game winners six times.
For 12 seasons, Schlagel has guided the Huskies in one of the most productive stretches in SCSU basketball history.
Since Schlagel was named head coach at SCSU, the Huskies have compiled a 237-112 overall record. Along the way, SCSU has won an NCC regular season title in 2002-03 (the first since the Huskies’ triple crown in 1986, 1987 and 1988), has been selected for NCAA tournament play six times since 2000 (2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009), and the Huskies won the NCC Wells Fargo Finals tournament twice in the tournament’s five-year history.
During the 2008-09 season, St. Cloud State's first as a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, Schlagel's squad finished third in the regular season and went on to claim the 2009 NSIC Sanford Health Tournament Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
In the NCAA tournament, Schlagel’s troops advanced to the regional finals in 2001. In addition, his players have consistently been recognized for excellence throughout his tenure.
For four straight years, an SCSU player had been named the NCC Defensive Player of the Year. In 2005, outgoing senior Steve Trull earned the honor, following in the foot steps of Alex Carlson (2004) and Jason Kron (2000, 2002, 2003).
In addition, the Huskies have gained several other top league honors as Forrest Witt was named the MVP of the Wells Fargo Finals in 2001 and 2003. Witt's younger brother Taylor, continued the tradition winning MVP honors in the 2009 NSIC Sanford Health Tournament. In the 1998-99 season, Rado Rancik was voted the NCC Freshman of the Year. To complete the scene, in 1997-98 Jon Hinzman earned All-America and NCC Most Valuable Player honors.
Schlagel started his association with the SCSU program in 1972 as a player for Noel Olson. As a senior, Schlagel helped guide SCSU to a Northern Intercollegiate Conference title in 1975-76.
Following his graduation in 1976, Schlagel was the head basketball coach at Shellsburg (Iowa) High School from 1977-80. He returned as an assistant to Olson and has since been a vital member of the Husky coaching staff since 1980 - including an 11-game stretch in 1983-84 when Schlagel served as the interim head coach.
As an assistant to Raymond, Schlagel served as the recruiting coordinator and director of operations and player personnel for the Huskies. From 1985-1988, Schlagel was part of SCSU’s triple crown in the North Central Conference as the Huskies won three consecutive conference titles. The Huskies posted a 76-15 record during those three campaigns and also advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs in each of those seasons. In 1986-87, the Huskies advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA playoffs for the first time in school history.
Schlagel believes his tenure at SCSU has provided him with the needed experience to be successful as a collegiate head coach.
“I have had a great experience at St. Cloud State,” Schlagel said. “I have learned a lot about basketball from the coaches I have worked with and one of those things is to have fun within the game."
Schlagel hopes to build on the success that has made SCSU one of the elite programs in NCAA Division II basketball since the mid 1980’s. His game plan will center around an up-tempo style of play - one that has been a trademark of Husky basketball.
| Year | Overall | NSIC/NCC |
|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | 22-9 | 14-6^ |
| 2007-08 | 17-11 | 5-7 |
| 2006-07 | 19-11 | 7-5* |
| 2005-06 | 20-11 | 8-4* |
| 2004-05 | 21-8 | 7-5 |
| 2003-04 | 17-11 | 7-7 |
| 2002-03 | 26-5 | 13-3*%$@ |
| 2001-02 | 21-7 | 12-6 |
| 2000-01 | 25-6 | 13-5*#$ |
| 1999-00 | 18-10 | 10-8* |
| 1998-99 | 14-13 | 8-10 |
| 1997-98 | 17-10 | 12-6 |
| Total | 237-112 | 102-66 |
^NSIC Tournament Champs / @ NCC Champs |
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