DMACC Athletics Director B.J. McGinn has announced the hiring of Blake Sandquist as the school’s new men’s basketball coach.

Sandquist, who becomes the 14^th head coach in the program’s history, succeeds Brett Putz who resigned to accept an assistant coaching position with the Indiana State University men’s basketball program. Putz guided the Bears for two seasons, leading them to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II men’s basketball championship in 2021 and a third-place finish in 2022.

“We are very excited to welcome Blake and his family to the DMACC community,” McGinn said. “After a very extensive search, Blake rose to the top and we can’t wait for him to get started.”

Sandquist has spent the past 11 seasons as associate head coach for the William Penn University men’s basketball program.

“It’s a great honor and privilege to be named the head men’s basketball coach at DMACC”, said Sandquist. “I want to personally thank Athletics Director B.J. McGinn and the DMACC administration for this opportunity. Our family is excited to be Bears.” 

Sandquist began his coaching career as an undergraduate student assistant for John Henry at William Penn University (WPU). He spent one season coaching the junior varsity program before moving into the varsity assistant role. 

While an assistant coach for WPU, Sandquist’s overall career record is 295-74. During this time, WPU qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament 10 of 11 seasons including one national runner-up, two Fab Four finishes and two Elite Eight finishes.  

Since joining the Heart of America Conference in 2015, WPU’s overall record in the league is 127-26. The Statesmen have claimed six regular season conference championships and five conference tournament championships. Sandquist was named the inaugural Heart of America “Assistant Coach of the Year” in 2022. 

Sandquist said he plans to bring a playing style that consistently led the NAIA in scoring and rebounding.

“We will play a very exciting brand of basketball,” Sandquist said. “We will play fast and unselfish on the offensive end, but our disciplined and solid defense will be what wins us championships.” 

Sandquist said he plans to put an emphasis on player development at DMACC. During his time at WPU, 17 players earned All-American honors and 22 players went on to play professional basketball.

“Our ultimate goal is to help these young men not only become better basketball players, but better students and people when they leave DMACC,” Sandquist said.

Sandquist earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports Administration and Business Management from WPU in 2011 and a master’s degree in Business Leadership in 2013. 

Sandquist and his wife, Kayla, are the parents of three children, Grayson (8), Hudson (6) and Briar (3).