Column: Potential Bearcat coaching candidates
Skye Pournazari
Jon Dykstra Managing Editor The Maryville Forum
Don’t mess with success if you are Northwest Missouri State. Ben McCollum has made the Bearcat program the envy of every other Division-II institution. That makes McCollum’s coaching tree the obvious place to hunt for the next Bearcat head coach.
Director of Athletics Andy Peterson knows more about the status of small-college basketball coaching than anyone who will speculate on this position. But Peterson offered some insight on that during last week’s appearance on KXCV/KRNW when he mentioned that he has a “short list of four or five guys that he will reach out to.”
“That is part of my job to figure out the right profile of coach that we need here — somebody that is established as a head coach at the college level, but probably not a Division-I head coach because they just don’t understand our resource scarcity.”
That desire for a candidate with prior head-coaching experience narrows the candidate pool. Austin Meyer would be an obvious candidate if he wanted it after the success he’s had with the women’s program, but understandably, he wants to stay with his group of women’s basketball players. That is great news for Bearcat fans.
Over the past two day, two coaches have been on campus — on Tuesday, Columbia College head coach Tomas Brock and Ottawa (Arizona) head coach Matt Keeley on Wednesday. Without any other discussion with Peterson or any decision makers in process, here is my short list of potential candidates:
Tomas Brock
Head Coach at Columbia College (NAIA)
The McCollum tree includes Tomas Brock, who was a part of the coaching staff as a graduate assistant at Northwest for two seasons before taking a full-time assistant coaching role at East Central in Division-II’s Great American Conference.
Brock was very successful as a player in college, beginning his career at Missouri State before transferring to Southwest Baptist where he is seventh all-time in assists. In high school, he was coached by his father and MBCA Hall of Fame coach Skip Brock.
In Brock’s five seasons leading the Columbia College Cougars, he is 105-47. Each of the last three seasons, Brock has increased the Cougars’ win total, culminating in a 24-7 record this past season. Four of his five seasons as head coach, the Cougars have won at least 20 games and they won 17 the other season after Brock took over a team that was 15-16 the previous year.
Matt Keeley
Head Coach at Ottawa (Arizona) (NAIA)
Wednesday’s visitor to Maryville had a long trip to make to get here, but is not unfamiliar with Northwest and Maryville.
Keeley has had a long run as an assistant coach at MidAmerica Nazarene and Washburn. He was at Washburn from 2007-2009.
In seven seasons at Ottawa, he has the programs first two 25-win seasons. He was the National Christian College Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2023 after winning the regional honor the previous two seasons.
Chris McCabe
Head Coach at William Jewell (D2)
McCabe has turned around the William Jewell program in recent seasons with five wins four years ago then back-to-back 15-win seasons before 21 wins this past season, a GLVC Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.
McCabe isn’t a direct member of the McCollum coaching tree, but he has plenty of Bearcat connections — having graduated from Northwest with his master’s in educational administration.
His other connection is as an assistant coach to Hall of Fame high-school coach Roger Stirtz at Liberty High School. McCabe then started the Liberty North program, before jumping to the college ranks at William Jewell. Roger Stirtz is the father of Bearcat point guard Bennett Stirtz.
Devin Eighmey
Women’s Assistant Coach at Idaho (D1)
Eighmey is purely a thought because of being off the McCollum coaching tree as a graduate assistant under McCollum, Meyer and Peterson. His wife, Carrie Eighmey, is the women’s head coach at the University of Idaho where he is an assistant. He was an assistant previously with her as the head coach at Nebraska-Kearney.
He is an unlikely candidate because of his wife’s status at Idaho, but does check a lot of the other boxes with connection to the current program and experience with the duties of a head coach — even if he hasn’t specifically been one.
Jesse Shaw
Head Coach at Maryville University (D2)
Shaw was a Northwest Missouri State player from 2002 to 2005. Two of those years, he was on the team with Ben McCollum and he also overlapped with Andy Peterson.
Shaw built Maryville University’s program to the point where they won 16 games in 2022-2023. He coached All-MIAA player Owen Long in his first year with the program before Long transferred to Emporia State.
Bearcat M-Club Hall of Fame coach Steve Tappmeyer was an assistant coach at Maryville for Shaw until this past season.
