USD welcomes new coaches in five sports
Five new head coaches are stepping into USD’s athletic department for the 2018-2019 seasons. The coaches spoke to The Volante about how they are settling into their roles within Coyote athletics.
Women’s Soccer – Michael Thomas
Before coming to USD, Thomas was the associate head coach at Cal State-Fullerton from 2014-17 and head coach at the University of Buffalo from 2014-18. Thomas also has 12 years of assistant coaching experience at the University of Denver, University of Memphis, and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
During college, Thomas played soccer at Fort Louis College in Colorado, and then professionally for the United League’s Boulder Nova/Rapids Reserve and Myrtle Beach Sea Dawgs.
When he applied for this position, Thomas said he didn’t know much about it at first.
“The position came open and I have family roots in the area. My mom was born in Sioux Falls,” Thomas said. “Once I got onto campus all the positive things happening here made it pretty clear to me this was something I should pursue heavily.”
Thomas said he thoroughly enjoys being a part of the USD community.
“There are so many positives, but I think the main thing is how positive everyone has been,” Thomas said. “From the players on the team who have experienced big changes and tried their hardest, the members of the athletic staff who have gone out of their way to be helpful, and the student body–who are one of the nicest student bodies I’ve encountered — and also the people in town who fully support the university and university athletics.”
In addition to enjoying the campus atmosphere, Thomas also said he has thoroughly enjoyed living in Vermillion.
“I love having the ability to walk anywhere in town and to have three people at a traffic light be considered a traffic jam,” Thomas said.
Men’s Basketball – Todd Lee
Todd Lee has 30 years of coaching experience, and before his hiring at USD, he coached at Grand Canyon University, Kentucky Wesleyan College, UC Irvine, and Cal State-Bakersville
A South Dakota native, he grew up playing basketball in Huron, SD, and graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1986.
“I tried walking on here, but it didn’t work out–but I played a year of golf,” Lee said.
Getting the chance to coach at USD was a great opportunity for Lee.
“All my family lives in Sioux Falls, it is nice to be back home I get to take my mom to dinner and see my brother and sister,” Lee said “The program has been winning at the Division I level so not only was it the opportunity to coach a winning team but also to be back home with the people I grew up with.”
In addition to being able to see family, Lee said it is nice to see so many people he went to school with and feels a large sense of pride coming back to USD after growing up here.
“People in South Dakota are proud of people from South Dakota,” Lee said. “When somebody from South Dakota goes off and does something big, there is a feeling of pride in the whole state.”
Lee said the players on his team have a lot of integrity for sticking with the program during a coaching change.
“I think that says a lot about the university that they really love this place, but it also says a lot about them as people because they are going to put their faith in me and in our coaching staff,” Lee said.
Taking his team to the NCAA Division I tournament is one of Lee’s goals as head coach.
“You try not to talk about winning, but I want to be the first head coach to take the team to the Division I tournament, and when we get into the tournament I want to win games,” Lee said. “For many years it was Division II and we had a great record of winning, but when you go to Division I it is much tougher. My goal would be to win the Summit League Tournament and make it to the NCAA tournament.”
A few changes are necessary to accomplish this goal, Lee said.
“They are going to have to change some things,” Lee said. “We’ve got talent and we added some depth in recruiting that I think will help us this year. We are going to try and find a way to be different from everyone else in the league. We are going to have to change the way they play a little bit. But we have a chance to do it with this team.”
Players who have worked with Lee would say his coaching foundation has remained the same since Day One.
“I want my players to know that I am a good person and I care about them on and off the court,” Lee said. “I treat everybody the exact same way. It doesn’t matter if you’re the president of the university or someone working landscape, I treat everyone the same and I want our guys to do the same thing.”
Women’s Triathlon – Kyle Joplin
Before being hired at USD in January, Joplin coached at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana. During college, Joplin competed with Auburn University.
“Last year at Nationals I was told USD was taking up triathlon and I was interested in being able to coach at the Division I level,” Joplin said.
Joplin enjoys the team’s camaraderie and how hard the girls work.
“We have a small team, but everyone has a really good attitude, everyone is ready to work and gets along well with each other,” Joplin said. “All of the girls coming here are looking to improve and make their national teams, so we want girls to come here and be able to compete at the national level.”
The size of Vermillion is why Joplin believes it is an ideal place for training.
“We can ride from the dome, get outside and ride for two hours, and only see twelve cars,” Joplin said.
Pushing his athletes to work harder is one of Joplin’s favorite things about coaching.
“I enjoy being able to see how much I can get out of them and how hard we can work them to reach their goals,” Joplin said.
Women’s Golf – Brett Bennett
Bennett was hired in early August and arrived on campus three weeks ago.
He played golf at USD from 2005-2009, graduating with a business management degree.
As an alumnus, Bennett said it is nice being back on campus.
“I have fond memories of campus and so it has been really nice to be back,” Bennett said. “John Vining, the men’s golf coach, has helped me adjust to being in a new position, and making the program the best I can right off the bat.”
Before coming to USD, Bennett worked in Sioux Falls.
“I started at the Country Club of Sioux Falls as an assistant golf professional for the last eight seasons and I received my PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) certification. I have also been at the University of Sioux Falls with men’s and women’s golf,” Bennett said.
The Fall golf season runs from the start of school to October 16 and they will play in five tournaments. The spring season will start February 20 and they will end with the conference tournament on April 23.
Men’s Golf – John Vining
John Vining was the assistant men’s and women’s golf coach at USD from 2013-17 before being named head coach in July. Vining graduated from USD in 2013 and was a member of the golf team.
“The former head coach resigned this summer and he left the program in really good shape. From there, the administration decided to hire a separate coach for men’s and women’s golf,” Vining said.
The biggest change for Vining changing from assistant coaching to head coaching is recruitment.
“The biggest thing is the recruiting process. Before I would just evaluate student-athletes, but now I am the one making the offers,” he said.
Vining said he’s proud to coach at the university he graduated from.
“It’s my alma mater so that creates a little more pride in the program,” Vining said. “Seeing where we’re at and working with our student-athletes and building relationships with the other coaches is really what makes everything successful across the board.”
In addition to teaching his players golf, Vining hopes to help them become well-rounded people.
“In golf you can’t get away from yourself, so you have to take care of yourself, from a physical standpoint and in terms of mental health,” Vining said. “I challenge the guys to make the right decisions: what does it mean to be a good teammate? What does it mean to excel at something?”
