2023 ACAC Men's Basketball Coaches of the Year
Edmonton, AB (March 01, 2023) -
North Coach of the Year: Jeremy Wielienga
The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is proud to announce that Jeremy Wielenga of the Keyano College Huskies has been named the 2022-2023 ACAC Men’s Basketball North Division Coach of the Year.
The win marks three-straight seasons as the ACAC North Division Coach of the Year for Wielenga, a product of Brandon, Manitoba.
Wielenga guided the Men’s Basketball Huskies to their second perfect season in a row as the team went 20-0 in the 2022-23 ACAC Regular Season. They scored a division-best 1,824 points and broke the 100-point barrier six times in a single game, scoring a season-high 111 points on January 28, 2023.
Their current regular-season winning streak stands at 44 games dating back to January 31, 2020.
Since Wielenga was hired to lead the Huskies ahead of the 2017-18 ACAC Regular Season, the Keyano Huskies Men’s Basketball team have compiled an 89-19 record, giving them a .824 winning percentage over that span. Under Wielenga’s leadership, the Men's Basketball program captured ACAC Bronze in 2019-20 and Silver in 2021-22.
In addition to last season’s honour as ACAC North Division Coach of the Year, Wielenga was named the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year. With it, he became the second Keyano College Huskies Athletics Coach to be recognized as a CCAA Coach of the Year following Men’s Volleyball Head Coach Trent Mason.
"Jeremy has made a tremendous impact on not only the Men’s Basketball Huskies but our Athletics program as a whole,” said Jonathan Lambert, Director of Athletics & Recreation at Keyano College. “The entire Keyano College community is overjoyed for Jeremy and is appreciative for the strong culture he’s grown within his program.”
This prestigious award will be recognized at the 2023 ACAC Men’s Basketball Championship hosted by Ambrose University in Calgary, Alberta.
South Coach of the Year: Ryan Heggie
The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is proud to announce that Ryan Heggie of the Lethbridge College Kodiaks has been named the 2022-2023 ACAC Men’s Basketball South Division Coach of the Year.
Coach Heggie is in his 12th year at the helm of the Kodiaks Men’s Basketball program at Lethbridge College. Under his leadership the Kodiaks have only failed to make post season play once. With only five returning student athletes and coming out of the pandemic transition season the Kodiaks earned the No. #1 seed in a very competitive south division.
“Another year of guiding a group of student athletes to succeed both on the floor and in the classroom,” says Todd Caughlin, Manager of Kodiaks Athletics. “Coach Heggie is driven to represent the best of his program and Kodiaks Athletics on a daily basis and it shows in how his teams and this group of student athletes compete everyday. To earn this kind of a recognition in a year that had only five returning players on the original roster speaks for itself. Coach Heggie wants to win and works very hard to do it the Kodiaks Way!”
This prestigious award will be recognized at the 2023 ACAC Men’s Basketball Championship hosted by Ambrose University in Calgary, AB.
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About the ACAC: The ACAC is the governing body for intercollegiate athletics in Alberta. Its mission is to provide competitive collegiate sport experiences, promote academic achievement and be a leader of sport development in Canada.
For more information on the ACAC, please visit our website: www.acac.ab.ca
For additional information, contact:
Mark Kosak, ACAC
Chief Executive Officer
403-875-7329
markk@acac.ab.ca
Jonathan Lambert, Keyano College Huskies
Director of Athletics & Recreation
780-791-4852
jonathan.lambert@keyano.ca
Todd Caughlin, Lethbridge College Kodiaks
Athletics Manager
403-382-6912
Todd.caughlin@lethbridgecollege.ca
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