Class AAA: New Coaches
There are 63 teams in Minnesota’s Class AAA basketball level and coming into the year and ten of those teams have new head coaches this winter.
Jason Allen (St. Cloud Apollo). After years as an assistant coach Allen takes over as the head coach. Allen is from Indiana but came to Minnesota by way of St. Cloud State where he played a couple seasons leading the team in three-point percentage.
Travis Bledsoe (DeLaSalle). The former Minnesota Mr. Basketball finalist from DeLaSalle returns to the school he graduated from after coaching at Centennial. Bledsoe played at North Dakota beginning the school pipeline to UND years ago.
Nick Carroll (Totino-Grace). The former CDH and Hamline player has coached in the Lake Conference and MIAC as an assistant, he’s coached AAU basketball for several years, and of course is the owner of Prep Hoops. Carroll takes over for Robert Ware who left TG for Maranatha.
Jeremy Drexler (Mankato West). Drexler comes to Mankato from New Ulm where he was the girls head coach for many year. Jeremy also spent some time as a volunteer assistant recently at Minnesota State-Mankato.
Undre Ellis (St. Paul Highland Park). Ellis was an assistant for Highland for many years and now he takes over as head coach. Ellis played as Southwest Minnesota State, he was a standout in the St. Paul City, and has coached at Minnesota Select for years.
Jamil Jackson (Minneapolis Patrick Henry). After many, many years working with basketball players in mentoring programs and in leagues he created himself in the city, Jackson is now taking over the Henry basketball program. Jackson has been a head coach previously at smaller schools.
Kevin Jordan (Little Falls). Jordan is listed as the coach at Little Falls. We could not find an announcement of the hiring but Jordan was previously the head coach before he moved into an athletic director position and Cory Schlagel moved into the head job.
Mike McGraw (Hutchinson). Hutch coach Marcus Okeson took a new job and then on June 24th McGraw was named head coach followed by his tweet of “Let’s make basketball great again!” Well there you go.
Marcus Okeson (Detroit Lakes). Okeson helped Ellsworth to state titles, Redwood Valley to state, was the coach at Hutch, and is now taking over a quality program in Detroit Lakes. Okeson has a strong history as head coach of outstate programs.
Andre Phillips (Mound-Westonka). Andre was a manager at the University of Minnesota, has coached AAU ball for a couple different programs, coached at St. John’s in the MIAC, has been an assistant at Mound-Westonka and is now the head coach.
TBD (New Ulm). We know New Ulm is looking for a new coach but can not find an announcement of the program having a new head coach anyplace.