Dakota State University

Kevin Williamson enters his second season as the Dakota State University men’s basketball head coach after a record-setting first season with the Trojans.

Williamson guided Dakota State to 18 victories in his debut season, the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history and the program’s highest overall win total since the 2015-16 season. The 18 victories also tied for the sixth-most wins in a single season in Dakota State men’s basketball history.

The Trojans established a new program record with 13 conference victories, surpassing the previous single-season mark of 12 set during the 2004-05 season. Dakota State also reached double-digit home victories for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

Under Williamson, the Trojans put together one of the longest winning streaks in program history with 7 straight wins, tying for the third-longest streak ever recorded by Dakota State men’s basketball. Individually, Nathan Ojukwu and Lukas Morgan earned First Team All-Conference honors under Williamson’s direction.

Williamson came to Dakota State after spending the 2024-25 season as the head coach at Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), where he guided the Tigers to a 20-10 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Dakota Wesleyan advanced to the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Tournament for the first time since 2020 during his lone season with the program.

Williamson previously spent five seasons as the head coach at the University of Saint Katherine (Calif.), developing the Firebirds into one of the Cal Pac’s most successful programs. He guided Saint Katherine to multiple record-setting seasons, a conference championship and two NAIA National Tournament appearances.

His 2023-24 Firebirds finished with a school-record 23 victories, posting a 23-9 overall record and advancing to the Cal Pac Tournament championship game before earning a berth in the NAIA National Tournament. Saint Katherine received its highest national tournament seed in program history as a No. 14 seed and narrowly fell 76-74 to No. 3 seed Arizona Christian in the opening round.

The Firebirds also recorded 20 victories in 2022-23, finishing 20-8 overall and setting numerous team and individual program records. Saint Katherine went 19-9 during the 2021-22 season and captured the program’s first men’s basketball conference championship and first NAIA National Tournament appearance.

Williamson’s first season at Saint Katherine also produced immediate results. Despite taking over the program less than two months before the start of the semester, he assembled a roster that finished 15-10, won the NCCAA West Region and qualified for the NCCAA Division I National Tournament. The Firebirds finished the season on a 12-game winning streak, and Williamson was named the NCCAA West Region Coach of the Year.

Throughout his head coaching career, Williamson has coached numerous All-Conference selections, Players-of-the-Year recipients and academic award winners. His programs have also consistently performed in the classroom, regularly producing team grade point averages above 3.0 and earning numerous NABC, NAIA and conference academic honors.

Williamson also served as Assistant Athletics Director of Compliance and Eligibility while at Saint Katherine and taught in the university’s Kinesiology department. He helped raise more than $40,000 for the athletics department while assisting with facility and equipment improvements for the Firebirds’ basketball programs.

Prior to becoming a collegiate head coach, Williamson built extensive experience at the NCAA Division II level with stops at CSU San Marcos, Dixie State—now NCAA Division I Utah Tech—the University of Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji State.

At Dixie State, the Trailblazers posted a 37-18 record during Williamson’s two seasons and earned a PacWest co-championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Williamson helped recruit, coach or develop one NCAA Division II All-American, two NABC First Team All-Region selections and seven PacWest All-Conference honorees.

During his time at Minnesota Duluth, the Bulldogs doubled their win total over a two-year stretch. Williamson helped recruit, coach or develop two NABC All-Region players and six NSIC All-Conference selections.

Williamson was also part of a historic 2011-12 season at Bemidji State. The Beavers finished with a program-record 22-9 overall mark and a then-school-record 16 conference victories, captured the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championship and reached the NCAA Division II Tournament for just the second time in program history.

His coaching career has also included stops at Glendale (Ariz.) Community College, Cathedral Catholic High School and Kofa High School. At Kofa, Williamson led the Kings to their only state Final Four appearance in school history, a school-record 21-11 season and a Gila Valley Region championship. He was named Gila Valley Region Coach of the Year.

As a student-athlete, Williamson competed in both basketball and golf at the University of Great Falls, now the University of Providence (Mont.). He was named an Academic All-American as a senior in 2007.

Williamson earned his Master of Science degree in sports studies with an emphasis in administration and kinesiology from Bemidji State University in 2013. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Providence in secondary education, health and physical education.