Schedule | Media Guide | History | Roster | Photo Gallery | Coaches | Previous Season

Shane Murphy
Head Men’s Basketball Coach
The University of South Dakota ’94
The University of South Dakota ’96
shmurphy@dwu.edu
605-995-2875

A new era starts for the Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball team in 2010. The Tigers are coming off their best season in recent memory, and Shane Murphy was hired as the new head coach to make sure that success continues.

Murphy, who was hired in July, brings experience, knowledge and a great deal of success with him to the DWU men’s basketball program. He takes over a squad that reeled off a long list of accomplishments in the 2009-10 basketball season.

Last season, Dakota Wesleyan finished 28-6, earning the most wins in school history. It won the Great Plains Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles, made its fourth straight trip to the NAIA Division II National Tournament where it earned the No. 7 seed, picked up its first win at the national tournament since 1947 and made it to the Sweet 16.

The Tigers had a 17-game winning streak spanning 64 days and went 15-0 in the months of January and February. DWU was ranked No. 4 in the NAIA Preseason Poll and had a regular-season ranking of No. 7. It was in the polls for 25 straight weeks.

Darrin Dorsey was named an NAIA All-American First-Team selection, the GPAC Player-of-the-Year and the Co-Defensive Player-of-the-Year, and he is the only player in GPAC history to win three player-of-the-week honors. Brady Wiebe was an All-American Third-Team pick and an All-GPAC First-Team member, and Preston Broughton earned All-American Third-Team and All-GPAC First-Team honors. DWU was the only GPAC school with three All-GPAC First-Team selections and the only team in the NAIA with three All-American selections.

Murphy’s resume should allow him to ease seamlessly into the DWU program. He took a two-year hiatus from coaching to work as a recruiter for the Principal Financial Group in Sioux Falls, S.D., but before that, he led the University of Sioux Falls men’s basketball program to the most successful stretch in school history.

Murphy was named the 2006 GPAC Coach-of-the-Year and the 2002 South Dakota Men’s College Coach-of-the-Year. He led the Cougars to two conference titles and two GPAC Tournament titles in seven years of coaching. Between 2001 and 2008, Murphy led his squads to the most wins in school history (154) with a .662 winning percentage and a single-season record of 28 wins in a season. The Cougars were a constant on the NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, and they were ranked No. 1 at one point in 2007. Murphy coached USF to four NAIA Division II National Tournaments in six seasons, including a trip to the Final Four in 2004. At USF, he recruited and coached five All-Americans and 11 All-GPAC players.

Before coaching at USF, Murphy played and coached at the University of South Dakota, his alma mater. He was an assistant coach for the Coyotes from 1995-2001, and he helped USD to North Central Conference titles in 1999, 2000 and 2001, and NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000. He was also a graduate assistant at USD from 1994-95.

Murphy started his collegiate playing career at Drake University and transferred to USD after two seasons. He led the Coyotes to two conference and regional titles and was an All-Conference, All-Region and All-America Honorable Mention selection in 1994. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance and human relations from USD in 1994, and he completed his Master of Business Administration in 1996, also at USD.

Murphy and his wife, Jill, live in Mitchell with their daughters, Allison, 14; and Emma, 10.

Josh Mueller
Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach
The University of South Dakota ’05
jomueller@dwu.edu

As well as hiring a new head coach, Dakota Wesleyan hired a new second in command for the men’s basketball program in 2010. Josh Mueller takes over as the Tigers’ assistant coach. Mueller brings with him experience at not only the high school and collegiate level, but also the professional level both in South Dakota and overseas.

Most recently, Mueller played professional basketball in Finland, Holland and Germany. He also spent time in the 2nd Bundesliga in Germany. He played in Germany for three years and spent one year each in Finland and Holland. Before playing overseas, he played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, an NBA Development League team in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Mueller played college basketball at the University of South Dakota, and he graduated as the career leader in assists (801), steals (256) and 3-point field goals (308). He is second on the all-time scoring list (1,994). Mueller was a part of the 2005 North Central Conference Tournament Championship team which won a school-record 27 games. He was a two-time Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year finalist, which includes the top 16 guards in the nation. He was also a three-time selection to the NCC All-Conference Team.

In high school, Mueller was a part of a West Central squad that won back-to-back state titles at the South Dakota Class “A” State Tournament in 2000 and 2001. He also led his team to a runner-up finish in 1999. He is third all-time in points scored in South Dakota with 2,563, and he holds the state tournament record for most points with 147 in three games.

Mueller lives in Mitchell and is pursuing a master’s degree in education at Dakota Wesleyan.