Donald Rekoske

Biography

Don Rekoske is beginning his 18th year as Head Coach of the Bryan College Men’s Basketball team. He holds an overall record of 239-244 at Bryan and 152-160 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). In the 2015-16 season, he reached the 300-win plateau for total collegiate wins. He has coached 25 seasons as a head college coach and will be entering his 35th year overall. Overall he has over 400 wins including 5 years at the high school level.

During his tenure at Bryan College, he has coached five NAIA All-Americans, 23 AAC All-Conference Team selections, 11 AAC All-Freshman Team members, eight AAC All-Defensive Team members, 32 AAC All-Academic Team members, two AAC Player of the Year winners, and four AAC Freshman of the Year winners.

Last season, the team finished 9-12 overall with a 6-10 record in the AAC. Brandon Thomas surpassed two career milestones of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds as a Bryan Lion. The team entered the AAC Tournament Opening Round as the 10 seed and fell to the eventual tournament champion Union. Thomas earned AAC All-Conference 1st Team honors for the second season, and both Kavon Blankenship and Amauri Young were named to the AAC All-Freshman Team.

During the 2019-2020 season, he led Bryan to a 13-16 overall record and finished eighth in the AAC with a 12-12 mark, falling to eventual tournament champion Union in the quarterfinals of the AAC Tournament. Brandon Thomas was awarded AAC All-Conference First Team and five Lions earned AAC All-Academic honors.

Bryan finished the 2018-2019 season at 16-14 overall and went 12-10 in conference games to earn the fourth seed in the AAC Tournament. The Lions defeated fifth-seeded Reinhardt in the quarterfinals before falling to the top-seeded and eventual tournament champion Union in the semifinals. Rekoske’s athletes received multiple honors this season as EJ Bush was awarded the NAIA All-American Honorable Mention, an AAC All-Conference First Team selection, and an AAC All-Defensive Team award. Brandon Thomas was named to the AAC All-Conference Second Team and All-Freshman Team.

In 2017-2018, the Lions posted a 17-13 record while registering an 11-9 mark in AAC play, good enough for 3rd in the AAC regular-season standings. The record would earn the program a berth into the AAC Tournament where they would fall in the quarterfinals to sixth-seeded Bluefield. Oteriah Lee capped off his senior season with the second AAC All-Conference First Team selection of his career. EJ Bush was named the AAC Freshman of the Year, an AAC All-Conference Second Team recipient, as well as an All-Defensive Team award.

Before coming to Bryan College, he spent eight years at Crown College in Minnesota. During his time there his teams amassed 140 wins and six national tournament appearances. At Crown, he served as the athletic director and professor in the Sports Management Department. His teams produced 18 academic All-Americans. In all, he has 24 years of college coaching experience.

Before coaching at the college level he spent two years at Bethesda Christian in Brownsburg, Ind. His 1990-91 team finished 24-5 with a 17-game winning streak to finish the year. The team won the AACS State, Regional, and National tournaments. That team had the privilege of being recognized at the Indiana State House by Gov. Dick Thompson. Coach Rekoske also served as the athletic director at the high school.

Coach Rekoske got his start at Oak Forest Christian Academy, where his three teams went 16-11, 20-9, and 24-6 respectively. The teams started to develop a reputation for tough-minded defense. That reputation has followed him during his 29 years of coaching. He was a teacher and athletic director during his time there.

As a collegiate player at Maranatha Baptist Bible College, Coach Rekoske was a three-year letterman. After his senior year, he was named first-team All-Conference in the DIII Lake Michigan Conference and First Team All-American NCCAA and NBCA. He completed his degree in secondary education and earned a graduate degree from the United States Sports Academy.

He currently lives in Dayton with his wife, Beth, and two children, Olivia and Carter. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing, smoking meat, and traveling.