Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on February 27, 2025, 11:00:24 AMI've talked to Merkel, not about him moving to D1, but about D3 coaches doing it in general, and he said, "the only benefit is the money," referencing all the other headaches that come with contemporary D1 basketball.  So, I suspect, so long as he and his family are happy and comfortable in Ashland, he'll probably stick around.

I'm sure that quote "the only benefit is the money" is true for Coach Merkle. But other former D3 coaches now in D1 might thrive on the perceived negatives of coaching at that level. I think of former RMC coach Mike Rhoades, now at Penn State. He must have a kind of personal ambition that allows him to deal with the pressure of being a D1 coach, especially in the Big 10. It seems he very intentionally charted a post-RMC path (assistant at VCU, head coach at Rice, head coach at VCU) to get to where he is now.

Quote from: y_jack_lok on March 02, 2025, 09:17:51 AM

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on February 27, 2025, 11:00:24 AMI've talked to Merkel, not about him moving to D1, but about D3 coaches doing it in general, and he said, "the only benefit is the money," referencing all the other headaches that come with contemporary D1 basketball.  So, I suspect, so long as he and his family are happy and comfortable in Ashland, he'll probably stick around.

I'm sure that quote "the only benefit is the money" is true for Coach Merkle. But other former D3 coaches now in D1 might thrive on the perceived negatives of coaching at that level. I think of former RMC coach Mike Rhoades, now at Penn State. He must have a kind of personal ambition that allows him to deal with the pressure of being a D1 coach, especially in the Big 10. It seems he very intentionally charted a post-RMC path (assistant at VCU, head coach at Rice, head coach at VCU) to get to where he is now.

I'd say that a person that knows themselves well enough to know where they will be happy is a lucky person.

How They Fared (Complete)—still awaiting the result of CMS/Cal Lutheran (currently at halftime).

The final report of the 2024-25 season.

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	623	Wesleyan	26-1	def. T#33 Hamilton, 82-77 2OT; LOST to #6 Trinity (Conn.), 67-75
#2	593	New York University	24-1	won at Brandeis, 94-76
#3	584	UW-Platteville	25-2	def. UW-Stevens Point, 83-73; def. #4 UW-La Crosse, 89-68
#4	522	UW-La Crosse	22-5	def. UW-Eau Claire, 69-55; LOST at #3 UW-Platteville, 68-89
#5	503	Randolph-Macon	23-4	def. Shenandoah, 81-51; LOST to (n) Guilford, 49-52
#6	496	Trinity (Conn.)	24-3	def. (n) #9 Tufts, 74-51; won at #1 Wesleyan, 75-67
#7	457	Hampden-Sydney	21-5	LOST to Lynchburg, 66-72
#8	441	Christopher Newport	22-5	def. (n) UC Santa Cruz, 84-78; LOST to (n) Mary Washington, 66-71
#9	389	Tufts	21-5	LOST to (n) #6 Trinity (Conn.), 51-74
#10	359	St. John's	24-3	def. Hamline, 72-54; def. Carleton, 74-59
#11	340	Redlands	22-4	LOST to T#30 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 87-89
#12	317	Emory	20-5	won at Rochester, 103-70
#13	283	Washington U.	19-6	LOST at T#37 Chicago, 68-76
#14	268	WPI	24-3	def. Emerson, 93-73; LOST to Clark, 65-80
#15	267	Calvin	21-6	def. Olivet, 63-47; def. Hope, 62-59
#16	259	Illinois Wesleyan	22-5	def. Augustana, 70-65; won at #23 Carthage, 79-60
#17	238	Wisconsin Lutheran	25-3	def. Rockford, 86-57; def. Concordia (Wis.), 86-65; LOST to St. Norbert, 52-70
#18	233	Trine	21-5	LOST to (n) Hope, 62-64
#19	162	Roanoke	23-5	def. Ferrum, 89-75; def. (n) Lynchburg, 96-92 OT; LOST to (n) Guilford, 74-79
#20	151	Cal Lutheran	22-5	def. Whittier, 90-89; LOST to T#30 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 71-72
#21	141	Whitworth	22-4	LOST to Lewis and Clark, 64-71
#22	97	St. Thomas (Texas)	25-2	def. (n) Schreiner, 61-60; def. (n) #29 Trinity (Texas), 58-53 OT
#23	92	Carthage	21-6	def. North Central (Ill.), 84-83; LOST to #16 Illinois Wesleyan, 60-79
#24	80	Denison	24-3	def. Ohio Wesleyan, 74-70; def. Wooster, 79-68
#25	77	Drew	24-3	def. Susquehanna, 97-81; def. T#30 Catholic, 85-70

---

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	35	Gustavus Adolphus	21-5	LOST to Carleton, 64-75
#27	34	John Carroll	22-5	def. Muskingum, 80-62; def. Mount Union, 82-69
#28	26	Franklin and Marshall	21-6	def. Ursinus, 75-64; def. Johns Hopkins, 60-47
#29	25	Trinity (Texas)	22-5	def. (n) Colorado College, 67-50; LOST to (n) #22 St. Thomas (Texas), 53-58 OT
T#30	6	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	20-7	won at #11 Redlands, 89-87; won at #20 Cal Lutheran, 72-71
T#30	6	Catholic	22-5	def. Wilkes, 96-76; LOST at #25 Drew, 70-85
T#30	6	Maryville (Tenn.)	21-6	def. Asbury, 91-73; LOST to Huntingdon, 92-93
T#33	4	Ramapo	20-7	def. Stockton, 88-81; LOST at T#37 Montclair State, 85-91 OT
T#33	4	Hamilton	20-6	LOST at #1 Wesleyan, 77-82 2OT
T#35	2	Anderson	22-6	def. Hanover, 84-69; LOST to Franklin, 66-72
T#35	2	Belhaven	21-5	LOST to (n) Huntingdon, 66-78
T#37	1	Chicago	18-7	def. #13 Washington U., 76-68
T#37	1	Montclair State	21-6	def. TCNJ, 80-62; def. T#33 Ramapo, 91-85 OT
T#37	1	Virginia Wesleyan	19-7	LOST to Guilford, 61-74

Thanks for doing these again this year, Darryl; here and on the women's page.

Fifteen of the top 25 lost in their conference tournaments. Four of them lost to other top 25 teams.