Missouri Valley Conference Basketball: A look at the 5 new head coaches for 2024-25

Five New Coaches

Drake’s Ben McCollum

McCollum is something of a Division 2 legend. During his fifteen seasons at Northwest Missouri State, McCollum won .812 of his games (394-91), eleven conference titles and four D2 national championships. His teams play efficient, up-tempo offensively and they’ve consistently ranked in the nation’s top ten in scoring defense. McCollum is an Iowa native and believes in Drake he has landed his ‘dream job’.

Illinois Chicago’s Rob Ehsan

Ehsan coached five winning teams at UAB and has been an outstanding assistant with such iconic coaches as Gary Williams and Seth Greenberg. His 76-57 record with the Blazers demonstrate he can win at the mid-major level. Ehsan spent the past three seasons at Stanford. His time with the Cardinal was his third stop with a 'power conference' program.

Indiana State’s Matthew Graves

Graves was the three-year ‘Associate Head Coach’ under Schertz. He and Schertz took Indiana State to historic levels in just three seasons. Graves' five seasons at South Alabama were difficult (65-96), but he believes those seasons have taught him how to be a better head coach. Graves is an Indiana native and both played and coached at Butler. He is very well connected in the region and hopes to build on the momentum from this season’s 32-win team. 

Missouri State’s Cuonzo Martin

This is Martin’s second tour of duty with the Bears. He led Missouri State to its only MVC basketball championship of any kind, when the Bears won the 2011 regular season title. Since then he has coached at Tennessee, California and Missouri. His 264-198 record represents a significant ability to win at the highest levels. Four of his teams have played in the NCAA Tournament and while at Missouri State Martin's teams won 59% of their games (61-41).

Southern Illinois’s Scott Nagy

Nagy and Martin are probably the most ‘sure things’ of these five newcomers. Nagy’s records at South Dakota State and Wright State reveal a coach that knows how to win and win consistently. Last year’s 18-win team represented a disappointing season for Nagy. Despite being frustrated with that team’s inability to defend, Nagy’s squad was every bit the offensive equal to Schertz’s well-publicized team at Indiana State. Nagy has won 374 Division 1 games.