FORT WORTH, TX: Texas Wesleyan University head men’s basketball coach Terry Waldrop has been selected as one of seventeen finalists for the College Insider Don Meyer NAIA National Coach of the Year Award.

 

The winner of the award will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet on April 1, in Houston, site of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

 

Waldrop led the Rams to an overall record of 30-4 this season. The team’s 30 wins matched the highest total in the 74-year history of the program. Texas Wesleyan was one of only seven NAIA programs to reach the 30-win plateau this season. At 21-1 in Red River Athletic Conference play, the Rams won their fourth consecutive RRAC regular season championship. The team finished the year ranked fifth in the NAIA Coaches’ Poll. The 2010-11 Rams featured five All-Conference players including RRAC Player of the Year and First-Team NAIA All-American Brian Wanamaker. Jonathan Blake was also named Honorable Mention All-American.

 

Waldrop has led the Rams to a remarkable run during his tenure. In 12 seasons, he is the program’s all-time winningest coach at 245-131 overall. Under his guidance, the team has made five NAIA National Tournament appearances. In 2006, the Rams won the NAIA Division I National Championship and Waldrop was named Rawlings NAIA and NABC NAIA Coach of the Year. During the team’s stretch of four-straight RRAC titles, the Rams hold a league record of 65-11 and a home court record of 55-5.

 

Fellow RRAC coach Chad McDowell was also among the finalists after leading his LSU-Shreveport Pilots to an overall record of 30-4 and the RRAC Tournament Title.

 

The Don Meyer Award, which is presented annually to the top NAIA basketball coach, is named in honor of the game’s winningest in any division in NCAA history. In 38 seasons at Hamline, Lipscomb, and Northern State, Meyer compiled a record of 923-324.