KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Nova Southeastern Men’s Basketball Head Coach Jim Crutchfield, following leading the Sharks to the program’s second NCAA Division II national championship in three seasons, has been named the National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) on Tuesday afternoon.
Crutchfield earns the honor for the second time in his legendary career, after guiding NSU to a 36-1 record, which tied the program record for wins in a single season, defeating Cal. State Dominguez 74-73 in the NCAA Division II national championship game on Saturday, March 29th. NSU finished the season winning its last 23 games, the longest winning streak in the country.
Crutchfield was also named the Sunshine State Conference and NABC South District Coach of the Year.
Crutchfield’s Sharks led NCAA Division II in scoring, averaging 101.7 points per game, outscoring opponents by an average of 22.4 points-per-game. NSU forced 18.4 turnovers-per-game, while also leading the country in assist/turnover ratio (2.21), and assists-per-game (23.3).
Crutchfield coached MJ Iraldi to Sunshine State Conference, D2 CCA and NABC Player of the Year honors, as the senior led NCAA Division II in scoring with 873 points. Dallas Graziani led NCAA Division II in assists (340), assists-per-game (9.2), while being second nationally in steals (93).
Over the last four seasons, Crutchfield has turned the NSU Men’s Basketball program into a powerhouse and a premier college basketball program. Since the 2021-22 season, NSU is 135-5 (0.964 winning percentage), winning four consecutive Sunshine State Conference regular season and tournament titles, four consecutive NCAA South Region championships, and two NCAA Division II National Championships. Overall, during his Sharks tenure, Crutchfield has accumulated a record of 204-25 (0.890 winning percentage), while coaching two NABC National Players of the Year, two D2 CCA National Players of the Year, and three Sunshine State Conference Players of the Year.
