(Story taken from the Hendrix College
website)
CONWAY, Ark. -- Dan Priest has resigned after six seasons
as the Hendrix College head men’s basketball coach and will
return to his home state of Ohio to continue his coaching
career. Former women’s head coach and assistant
men’s coach, Thad McCracken {pictured}, will take over the
reigns of the Hendrix men’s program.
McCracken, a Bedford, Ind. native, was named Priest’s
successor after a standout 2009-10 season as the Hendrix
women’s head coach. McCracken served as
the men’s assistant coach under Priest’s tenure for
four seasons (2005-09) and was named the head women’s coach
after Chris Hitchcock resigned following the 2008-09 season.
“I am excited to get back with the guys that I recruited as an assistant coach for the men’s program and look forward to coaching our young and very talented team,” said McCracken. “I have some big shoes to fill and look forward to continuing what coach Priest worked so hard to build.”
The Warriors completed one of the most exciting women’s seasons in Hendrix history with its first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) West Division title after finishing 20-5 overall and 13-3 in SCAC play. Hendrix’s post season run ended with an 86-77 loss to Centre College in the semifinal round of the conference tournament.
“I will miss the women and enjoyed the time I had with them,” said McCracken. “We made a thrilling run last season. I look forward to seeing the women’s squad succeed next year and I am glad I will still be around to help out in any way.”
“Thad is obviously a rising star in the coaching ranks, and his knowledge of Hendrix – its values and its culture – will help him continue to be a success directing the men’s basketball program,” said Warriors’ Director of Athletics Danny Powell. “When he asked about moving to the men’s program, I was confident that he’d continue the fine work he’d done heading the women’s team. We appreciate the McCracken family and are glad they’ll be at Hendrix for years to come as they are certainly assets to the College.”
McCracken’s first coaching position was at Transylvania University (Lexington, Ky./NCAA D-III) as an assistant coach, where he helped lead the Pioneers to a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Championship in 2004-05. While he was coaching at Transylvania, McCracken earned his masters of science degree in sports administration from Eastern Kentucky University.
A 2004 graduate of Hanover College, McCracken earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration. He won four HCAC Championships and made two NCAA D-III National Tournament appearances during his playing career at Hanover. McCracken was honored as a NCAA D-III All-American and HCAC Player-of-the-Year his senior year and HCAC Tournament MVP his junior year. McCracken holds the record for most 3-pointers in a season (76/2003-04) and is tied for most career 3-pointers (216/2001-04) in Hanover’s rich program history.
Priest, an Oxford, Ohio native, helped lead the Warriors into a new era of NCAA Division III basketball and finished his career at Hendrix with a 69-80 overall record and 31-37 SCAC mark. He took over a program that went winless (0-23) the season prior to his arrival in 2004. Priest immediately turned the program around with a 5-19 record his first season, an 11-13 mark his second stretch and then earned the first of three straight winning seasons after his third year.
“I have greatly enjoyed my six years at Hendrix College and I am thankful for the opportunity to have been the head men’s basketball coach,” said Priest. “I am particularly thankful for the players, past and present, as I will miss the relationships I had with them. I am also grateful for Jason Rhodes and Cliff Garrison for all their help in making this transition a successful one. It is comforting to know the program will be in such good hands and I am excited to watch for all the success the Warriors are sure to have in the future.”
Priest led the Warriors to three-consecutive SCAC Championship Tournament appearances and two-straight first round victories over Oglethorpe University as the tournament’s host school in 2008 and 2009. Hendrix narrowly missed a chance to play for the SCAC Title in Grove Gymnasium in 2009 after a 77-78 thriller against Centre College.
In his six seasons, Priest placed three players on the All-SCAC team and six players to the All-SCAC Honorable Mention list. He also coached three players on the SCAC’s 1,000 point scorers list including Andrew King, Matt Secrease and Cal Rose.
“We appreciate coach Priest’s six years at Hendrix and wish him, and his family well, in their new home,” said Powell. “Dan did a great job of carrying on the fine tradition of our program and recruiting quality student-athletes. While we will miss his contributions, we know that moving back to Ohio to get closer to their families will be a great thing for the Priest family.”
For more information on Hendrix Athletics please visit www.HendrixWarriors.com or contact Brian Rejer, Sports Information Director, at (501) 450-1426. Follow Hendrix Athletics on Twitter (http://twitter.com/Warrior_SID).
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