Apr. 22—MADISON, S.D. — Kevin Williamson didn’t envision himself leaving the Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball team unless the right circumstances fell into place.
Those happened to be with longtime rival Dakota State University.
Williamson resigned as head coach of the Tigers after one season following his hiring to lead the Trojan men’s basketball program beginning in the fall of 2025, both universities announced Tuesday.
Having previously applied when DSU’s head coaching position was open in 2023, Williamson told the Mitchell Republic the timing was right to make the move given a variety of factors.
“I wasn’t very interested in leaving unless it was a very unique and special opportunity at a larger, growing state-based school,” Williamson said. “Some of my family lineage is from right out here in Madison and with everything that’s been happening here at this university, which I’ve been kind of paying attention to, it was a fairly no-brainer to me when it was available.”
Originally from San Diego, Williamson’s grandmother was raised in Madison before her family relocated to the west coast when she was age 15. He also played collegiately for the University of Providence (Mont.), a team set to become Dakota State’s conference rival beginning in the fall in the Frontier Conference.
DSU joining the Frontier following the North Star Athletic Association ceasing operations after the spring sports season was another draw to Williamson, who felt it gave him a greater opportunity to build a national-championship winning squad than coaching a team in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, DWU’s home conference.
“With the scholarship scenario being a little bit better than the GPAC, you have a chance to win national championships,” Williamson said. “We want to find the right pieces that fit our basketball program, school and our campus and just make sure that we get the right type of kids in here that are going to be here for the right reasons.”
Dakota State has plans to build a new 2,000-seat basketball and volleyball arena to replace the current DSU Fieldhouse, which was built in 1960. That follows the fall 2024 opening of the Beacom Premier Complex and Kern Family Stadium, which was a $41 million new football stadium and track and field complex.
Williamson replaces DSU’s previous coach, Darren Tighe, who was hired by the University of Mary, a Division II school in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, on April 14. The Trojans were 12-17 last season with the Tigers winning the head-to-head matchup 76-48 in Mitchell on Nov. 6, 2024.
Williamson was DSU’s second choice behind Tighe when he applied for the position two years ago. After Tighe’s hiring by Mary, Williamson reapplied for the position and was offered the job April 18, five days after the job opened up, as DSU wanted the position filled before Easter weekend.
“I guess DWU’s loss is our gain,” DSU athletic director Bud Postma said. “You never like that, but every coach is coming from somewhere. We think he’s going to do a great job here.”
In Williamson’s lone campaign with the Tigers, he led the team to their first 20-win season and NAIA national tournament appearance since 2020. DWU finished with a 20-10 record, losing its first-round tournament game to The Master’s (Calif.) on March 14.
Prior to joining DWU, Williamson spent five seasons as the head coach at the University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos, California, a school that closed its doors in spring 2024, ending the basketball program. Williamson was 83-41 in five seasons at USK, including two trips to the NAIA tournament in two of his final three seasons.
Following Williamson’s departure, DWU does not have a full-time coach on its men’s basketball staff. Former assistant coach Sam Nicholson took a job with NCAA Division II Upper Iowa to work for former University of South Dakota assistant coach Casey Kasperbauer, who recently became the Peacocks’ head coach. Nicholson was on staff in 2024 during the period between head coaches for DWU.
Williamson’s predecessor Matt Wilber, who resigned after an 11-year stint as the Tigers’ coach, was hired earlier this month to take over the men’s basketball program at Division II Northern State University, returning to college basketball after one season as an assistant coach with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. Wilber posted 224 wins while at DWU, which is the second-most in program history.
In addition to bringing in a new coaching staff, DWU will also have holes to fill on the floor, having graduated four of its five primary starters. As it stands now, Randy Rosenquist Jr. was the lone non-senior starter last season and will enter his junior year this fall. Role players Ethan Determan and Steele Morgan will also be juniors next season, and Tyson Stevenson enters his sophomore campaign after starting seven games as a freshman.
DWU athletic director Ross Cimpl released a statement on Williamson’s resignation, lauding the group of players returning and joining the program for next season with the next head coach coming into an established program, a sentiment echoed by Williamson.
“We have a great group of young men in our program who have raised the bar for DWU men’s basketball,” Cimpl said. “Our next head coach will have a tremendous starting point, and we will work to find the right fit for our program and the university.”
“They’re getting great kids that are really great students, great citizens and just great people to be around,” Williamson said. “They’re taking over guys that have been taught some fairly unique, different concepts and are willing to learn and willing to be coached.”
The Mitchell Republic’s Luke Hagen and Marcus Traxler contributed to this story.
MADISON, S.D. — Kevin Williamson didn’t envision himself leaving the Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball team unless the right circumstances fell into place.
Those happened to be with longtime rival Dakota State University.
Williamson resigned as head coach of the Tigers after one season following his hiring to lead the Trojan men’s basketball program beginning in the fall of 2025, both universities announced Tuesday.
Having previously applied when DSU’s head coaching position was open in 2023, Williamson told the Mitchell Republic the timing was right to make the move given a variety of factors.
“I wasn’t very interested in leaving unless it was a very unique and special opportunity at a larger, growing state-based school,” Williamson said. “Some of my family lineage is from right out here in Madison and with everything that’s been happening here at this university, which I’ve been kind of paying attention to, it was a fairly no-brainer to me when it was available.”
Originally from San Diego, Williamson’s grandmother was raised in Madison before her family relocated to the west coast when she was age 15. He also played collegiately for the University of Providence (Mont.), a team set to become Dakota State’s conference rival beginning in the fall in the Frontier Conference.
DSU joining the Frontier following the North Star Athletic Association ceasing operations after the spring sports season was another draw to Williamson, who felt it gave him a greater opportunity to build a national-championship winning squad than coaching a team in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, DWU’s home conference.
“With the scholarship scenario being a little bit better than the GPAC, you have a chance to win national championships,” Williamson said. “We want to find the right pieces that fit our basketball program, school and our campus and just make sure that we get the right type of kids in here that are going to be here for the right reasons.”
Dakota State has plans to build a new 2,000-seat basketball and volleyball arena to replace the current DSU Fieldhouse, which was built in 1960. That follows the fall 2024 opening of the Beacom Premier Complex and Kern Family Stadium, which was a $41 million new football stadium and track and field complex.
Williamson replaces DSU’s previous coach, Darren Tighe, who was hired by the University of Mary, a Division II school in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, on April 14. The Trojans were 12-17 last season with the Tigers winning the head-to-head matchup 76-48 in Mitchell on Nov. 6, 2024.
Williamson was DSU’s second choice behind Tighe when he applied for the position two years ago. After Tighe’s hiring by Mary, Williamson reapplied for the position and was offered the job April 18, five days after the job opened up, as DSU wanted the position filled before Easter weekend.
“I guess DWU’s loss is our gain,” DSU athletic director Bud Postma said. “You never like that, but every coach is coming from somewhere. We think he’s going to do a great job here.”
Marcus Traxler / Mitchell Republic
In Williamson’s lone campaign with the Tigers, he led the team to their first 20-win season and NAIA national tournament appearance since 2020. DWU finished with a 20-10 record, losing its first-round tournament game to The Master’s (Calif.) on March 14.
Prior to joining DWU, Williamson spent five seasons as the head coach at the University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos, California, a school that closed its doors in spring 2024, ending the basketball program. Williamson was 83-41 in five seasons at USK, including two trips to the NAIA tournament in two of his final three seasons.
Following Williamson’s departure, DWU does not have a full-time coach on its men’s basketball staff. Former assistant coach Sam Nicholson took a job with NCAA Division II Upper Iowa to work for former University of South Dakota assistant coach Casey Kasperbauer, who recently became the Peacocks’ head coach. Nicholson was on staff in 2024 during the period between head coaches for DWU.
Williamson’s predecessor Matt Wilber, who resigned after an 11-year stint as the Tigers’ coach, was hired earlier this month to take over the men’s basketball program at Division II Northern State University, returning to college basketball after one season as an assistant coach with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. Wilber posted 224 wins while at DWU, which is the second-most in program history.
In addition to bringing in a new coaching staff, DWU will also have holes to fill on the floor, having graduated four of its five primary starters. As it stands now, Randy Rosenquist Jr. was the lone non-senior starter last season and will enter his junior year this fall. Role players Ethan Determan and Steele Morgan will also be juniors next season, and Tyson Stevenson enters his sophomore campaign after starting seven games as a freshman.
DWU athletic director Ross Cimpl released a statement on Williamson’s resignation, lauding the group of players returning and joining the program for next season with the next head coach coming into an established program, a sentiment echoed by Williamson.
“We have a great group of young men in our program who have raised the bar for DWU men’s basketball,” Cimpl said. “Our next head coach will have a tremendous starting point, and we will work to find the right fit for our program and the university.”
“They’re getting great kids that are really great students, great citizens and just great people to be around,” Williamson said. “They’re taking over guys that have been taught some fairly unique, different concepts and are willing to learn and willing to be coached.”
The Mitchell Republic’s Luke Hagen and Marcus Traxler contributed to this story.
