Craig_Doty
Craig Doty
American basketball coach
Craig Arthur Doty (born August 27, 1985)[citation needed] is an American college men's basketball coach currently coaching at Houston Christian University. Prior to his current position, Doty was the head coach for Emporia State University from 2018 to 2024. Doty was also the head coach for at Graceland University from 2016 to 2018, where he led the school to its first NAIA national championship, as well as a Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament championship. Doty was the men's basketball head coach at Rock Valley College from 2012 to 2016, where he won two NJCAA Division III championships.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Houston Christian |
| Conference | Southland |
| Record | 0–0 (–) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1985-08-27) August 27, 1985 (age 38) Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2005–2009 | Morningside |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2009–2010 | Morningside (volunteer asst.) |
| 2010–2011 | Central Wyoming (asst.) |
| 2011–2012 | Riverland CC (asst.) |
| 2012 | Sioux Falls (asst.) |
| 2012–2016 | Rock Valley |
| 2016–2018 | Graceland |
| 2018–2024 | Emporia State |
| 2024–present | Houston Christian |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 97–76 (.561) (NCAA) 49–22 (.690) (NAIA) 113–28 (.801) (NJCAA) |
| Tournaments | 1–1 (NCAA DII) 5–0 (NAIA) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 NJCAA Division III national championships (2014, 2016) 2018 NAIA national championship Heart of America Tournament championship | |
| Awards | |
| 2 Spalding NJCAA Division III Coach of the Year (2014, 2016) NAIA Coach of the Year (2018) | |
Early career
Doty, an Alcester, South Dakota native, began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant for Morningside College, where he played on the men's basketball team from 2005 to 2009.[1] After graduating with his master's degree, Doty moved to Wyoming to become the assistant coach for Central Wyoming College, where he would eventually serve as interim head coach for the remaining two months of the 2010–11 season.[2] At the end of the season, Doty left to become an assistant for Riverland Community College for half a season before leaving to become an assistant at the University of Sioux Falls for the remainder of the season.[3]
Rock Valley College
After serving three seasons as an assistant coach at four schools, Doty was named the head coach at Rock Valley College, a National Junior College Athletic Association Division III school, in 2012.[4] During his four seasons, Doty led the Rock Valley to a record of 113–28 (.801) overall, 41–16 (.719) conference, ending his run with two NJCAA Division III national championships.[3] Doty won his first national championship during his second season in 2013–14 with a record of 30–5, 10–5 conference.[5] The following year, Doty led the Golden Eagles to national runners-up, and won a second national championship during the 2015–16 season.[6]
Graceland University
Following two national championships in four seasons, Doty was named the head coach for Graceland University in May 2016.[7] During his two-year tenure at Graceland, Doty lead the Yellowjackets to a record of 49–22 (.690) overall, 30–15 (.667) conference, and ended his tenure with his third national championship – Graceland's first – during the 2017–18 season.[8] Graceland won the 2018 Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament.[9]
Emporia State University
In April 2018, Doty was named head coach for the Emporia State Hornets basketball team.[10]
Houston Christian University
On March 15, 2024, it was announced that Doty was leaving his position at Emporia State to become the head coach of the Houston Christian Huskies.[11]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Valley Golden Eagles (North Central Community College Conference) (2012–2016) | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | Rock Valley | 19–16 | 7–7 | T–3rd | NJCAA Division III Elite 8 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Rock Valley | 30–5 | 10–5 | T–2nd | NJCAA Division III National Champions | ||||
| 2014–15 | Rock Valley | 31–4 | 13–1 | T–1st | NJCAA Division III runner-up | ||||
| 2015–16 | Rock Valley | 33–3 | 11–3 | 2nd | NJCAA Division III National Champions | ||||
| Rock Valley: | 113–28 (.801) | 41–16 (.719) | |||||||
| Graceland Yellowjackets (Heart of America Athletic Conference) (2016–2018) | |||||||||
| 2016–17 | Graceland | 20–12 | 16–10 | 1st | |||||
| 2017–18 | Graceland | 29–10 | 14–5 | 2nd | NAIA National Champions | ||||
| Graceland: | 49–22 (.690) | 30–15 (.667) | |||||||
| Emporia State Hornets (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) (2018–2024) | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | Emporia State | 14–16 | 8–11 | T–8th | |||||
| 2019–20 | Emporia State | 10–18 | 4–15 | T–13th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Emporia State | 11–12 | 11–11 | T–6th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Emporia State | 20–9 | 15–7 | 5th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Emporia State | 23–9 | 15–7 | T–3rd | NCAA Division II Second Round | ||||
| 2023–24 | Emporia State | 19–12 | 12–10 | T–6th | |||||
| Emporia State: | 97–76 (.561) | 65–61 (.516) | |||||||
| Houston Christian Huskies (Southland Conference) (2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024–25 | Houston Christian | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Houston Christian: | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | |||||||
| Total: | 259–126 (.673) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
- "Graceland University Welcomes Coach Craig Doty as Head Mens Basketball Coach". www.graceland.edu. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- "Midwest Elite Basketball – Craig Doty". Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- Taft, Jay. "Championship basketball coach Craig Doty leaves Rock Valley College for NAIA's Graceland". Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- "RVC Hires New Basketball Coach". Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- Cohen, Dan. "Rock Valley College splits national title doubleheader". Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- "Rock Valley wins second DIII championship since 2014". March 12, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- "Craig Doty Tabbed To Lead Men's Basketball in 2016-17 - Graceland University". www.gujackets.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- "Graceland (Iowa) wins its 1st NAIA national championship". USA Today. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- "Heart of America Athletic Conference - Graceland Wins #HeartMBB Tourney Title, 95-68". Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- "Coach parlays Graceland glory to Emporia State basketball job". Retrieved May 18, 2018.