Southern Vermont coach gets D-I job

More news about: Southern Vermont
Dan Engelstad
 

Dan Engelstad, head men's basketball coach at Southern Vermont, has been named head coach at Division I Mount St. Mary's, in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dan Engelstad home to Mount St. Mary's," said president Timothy E. Trainor, Ph.D. "Dan is a proven, accomplished head coach with a passion for and commitment to the Mount, gained from his three years as an assistant coach here. Dan's integrity and engaging, energetic personality are well known to the Mount community. I am confident that he will do a remarkable job in taking the Mount to even higher levels of success in men's basketball."

He is the first Division III head men's basketball coach to go directly to a Division I head coaching job in the past three years. He's also the third Division III head coach this offseason to make the jump, following FDU-Florham women's coach Marc Mitchell and SUNY Geneseo women's coach Scott Hemer.

Engelstad, a former assistant coach at the Mount under Milan Brown, spent the last five seasons at the helm of Southern Vermont, where he led a remarkable turnaround and helped carry the program to new heights. He posted a 104-34 (.754) career record at SVC, was named the New England Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year three times, and helped guide the program to a pair of NECC championships, including the school's first-ever title in 2016.

Engelstad took over at Southern Vermont following a 1-24 season, and guided SVC to one of the top turnarounds in the country in 2013-14. The Mountaineers, who finished the campaign at 16-10 overall, opened the season with a victory over nationally ranked Williams, and went on to finish fourth in the NECC, as they earned their first conference playoff berth since 2011.

The following year, Engelstad led the Mountaineers to an historic season as they finished with the best record in program history at 25-4 overall, and went a perfect 16-0 in NECC play. Engelstad earned his first of three NECC Coach of the Year Awards that season after guiding Southern Vermont to a regular season title and an appearance in the conference championship game. Although the Mountaineers lost in the NECC championship game, they were invited to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England tournament as the No. 1 seed, where they defeated Anna Maria and Fitchburg State to capture the school's first-ever ECAC championship in any sport. In addition to Engelstad earning coach of the year honors, he also saw his players collect the NECC Player of the Year (DeShawn Hamlet) and Rookie of the Year (Daemond Carter) Awards.

In 2015-16, Engelstad's Mountaineers went 24-4 on the year and recorded their second straight undefeated record in conference play at 16-0, earning Engelstad Coach of the Year honors once again. Entering the conference tournament as the top-seed, SVC rolled past Regis (Mass.) and Becker to earn its first-ever NECC championship and second berth to the Division III NCAA Tournament, where the Mountaineers were eventually edged by Tufts. Engelstad became the program's all-time winningest coach during the season with a victory over Elms on Feb. 18.

During the 2016-17 campaign, SVC received weekly recognition in the NCAA Division III Northeast regional rankings and received votes for the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Engelstad helped SVC reach the NECC Title game for the third straight season as well.

This past season, Engelstad guided the Mountaineers to another 20-plus win season as they earned the No. 1 seed in the NECC tournament for the fourth consecutive year. In the conference tournament, they topped Lesley College and Becker to capture the second NECC title in program history, and Engelstad earned Coach of the Year honors for his third time in five seasons. In addition to his own personal honors, his players won two major awards as Mike Pierre was tabbed the NECC Player of the Year and Daemond Carter earned NECC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Prior to his time at Southern Vermont, Engelstad served as an assistant coach for three years (2010-13) at Holy Cross, where he was the defensive coordinator and played a vital role in recruiting and scouting. While at Holy Cross, he recruited and assisted in the development of current Toronto Raptor Malcolm Miller.

Engelstad started his career as an assistant coach at Mount St. Mary's from 2007-10 under Brown. He helped guide the Mount to a 2008 Northeast Conference championship, which was the third title in program history. The Mountaineers went on to record their first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament win with a victory over Coppin State in the opening round.

Outside of the collegiate realm, Engelstad was a head coach in The Basketball Tournament, commonly known as TBT, which is a 5-on-5, winner take all tournament composed of professional players, some of whom have previously played in the NBA, at major Division I colleges, and on professional international teams.

Engelstad is a 2007 graduate of St. Mary's (Md.) with a bachelor's degree in political science. He served as a team captain (2004-07) for the Seahawks and graduated as the school's all-time leader with 419 career assists.

Engelstad is married to the former Camille Trainor, and the two welcomed their daughter, Laney Anne-Maria, in June of 2017.

From D-III to D-I

The list of coaches to go directly from D-III to D-I head coaching jobs since 1999 is relatively short. With Bo Ryan has retired from UW-Madison, former Williams coach Dave Paulsen has the distinction of being the most sucessful active coach on the list.

Coach, D-III school D-I school Year Best result Current job
Glen Miller, Connecticut College Brown 1998-99 2006-07: 22-9 St. Joseph (Conn.) men's basketball
Phil Rowe, Keene State New Hampshire 1998-99 2001-02: 11-17 Athletic strategy, special projects at William Peace 
Bo Ryan, UW-Platteville UW-Milwaukee 1998-99 2014-15: 36-4 Retired
Tony Shaver, Hampden-Sydney William & Mary 2002-03 2009-10: 22-11 William & Mary
Doug Davalos, Sul Ross State Texas State 2005-06 2010-11: 16-16 HS girls' basketball coach
Don Friday, Lycoming St. Francis (Pa.) 2007-08 2009-10: 11-19 Penn St.-Harrisburg
Dave Paulsen, Williams Bucknell 2007-08 2012-13: 28-6 George Mason (20-14, 2016-17)
Jim Hayford, Whitworth E. Washington 2010-11 2014-15: 26-9 Seattle U. (20-14, 2017-18)
Bob Walsh, Rhode Island Coll. Maine 2013-14 2015-16: 8-22 Looking for work
Mike Maker, Williams Marist 2013-14 2016-17: 8-24 Looking for work
Nate Davis, Randolph-Macon Bucknell 2014-15 2016-17: 26-9 Bucknell
Dan Engelstad, Southern Vermont Mount St. Mary's 2017-18