North Michigan News

MARQUETTE, Mich. - Following a 22-11 season in which the Northern Michigan men's basketball team secured the GLIAC regular season title and reached the NCAA Tournament, head coach Matt Majkrzak has announced the promotion of Keil Ganz to associate head coach for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.

Ganz, who was Majkrzak's first assistant in 2019, returned to the Wildcat bench last season and contributed to an impressive 22-11 record. The Wildcats won their first regular-season championship since 1992-93 and hosted the GLIAC Tournament. This past season, Northern tied its longest winning streak in program history at 13 games, a record originally set in 1984-85.

"Keil has been instrumental in returning Northern Michigan men's basketball to the top of the GLIAC conference," said Majkrzak. "It's a special situation where he was a vital part of year one, helping set the foundation for all the success in the future, and then we were thrilled to be able to bring him back for last year's championship. This is the logical next step for him in his coaching career. He's instrumental in all facets of our program and I have no doubt he is ready to be a successful head coach. In the meantime, we are very lucky to have him on staff as we try to continue to win championships."

Before his return to Northern Michigan, Ganz served as Director of Operations at the University of Southern Indiana (USI) in the Ohio Valley Conference during their transition to Division I level.

Prior to USI, Ganz worked at Sports Info Solutions as a Video Scout where he used analytical tools to create advanced data on NBA prospects for NBA teams.

Ganz also spent three years as a coach and recruiting coordinator with St. Norbert's Green Knights. During that period, St. Norbert finished with a record of 57-20 and secured two Midwest Conference regular-season championships in NCAA Division III along with six all-MWC players.

Before his tenure at St. Norbert, Ganz was head coach at Kewaunee High School in Wisconsin where they saw an eight-win improvement from previous seasons under his leadership. His first year included a 12-game winning streak and a second-place finish in its conference.

Additionally, Ganz has ten years of AAU coaching experience serving as program director/coach for AAU Wisconsin Jets from 2011-18 leading them to multiple titles. He later coached with Wisconsin Shooters in 2019 and Wisconsin Playground Club in 2021.

Ganz began his coaching career as a student assistant at NCAA Division I Wisconsin-Green Bay where he managed matchup boards during games and collaborated with coaches on strategies while assisting with film projects, recruiting efforts, and administrative duties.

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