Mike Maker leaves behind a talented group of returning Ephs from a team that went 28-5 last season. Photo by Eric Kelley, d3photography.com

Mike Maker became the second Division III men's basketball coach in six weeks and the third D-III head coach this offseason to get a Division I head coaching job, as the Williams head coach was tabbed to lead the Marist Red Foxes.

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Maker follows former Rhode Island College coach Bob Walsh, who took the head coaching position at Maine last month. Williams' previous men's basketball head coach, Dave Paulsen, went directly from Williamstown to Bucknell, where he is still head coach.

At Marist, Maker inherits a team that went 12-19 this past season and was 9-11 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Marist last had a winning record in 2007-08 under Matt Brady, when they went 18-14. The Red Foxes have averaged just under nine wins per season since then, including last year's performance in Jeff Bower's only season as head coach.

Maker went 147-32 (.821) in six years at Williams, including three trips to the Final Four and two trips to the national title game. The Ephs were 28-5 this past season.

“It is with great pride and humility that I accept the head men’s basketball coaching position at Marist College,” Maker said in a school news release. “Together, our staff and players will embrace the overall mission of Marist and recognize the responsibility we share to represent our institution, program and community, on and off the court, with class, enthusiasm and excellence. We will implement a team first approach and unique style of play that highlights character, intelligence and skill, a direct reflection of our student body as a whole.”

Before coming to Williams, Maker had spent 17 seasons as a Division I assistant coach.

Williams will be the fifth Division III men's basketball NCAA Tournament program to change coaches this offseason, following Hope, Mary Washington, Cabrini and Rhode Island College.