SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the second straight season, SUNY Delhi men’s basketball head coach Zack Thomsen was awarded coach of the year award for the American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) after leading his team to their second NCAA Division III tournament appearance.
“I’m honored to have been named coach of the year for the second year in a row,” said Thomsen, a South New Berlin native and former stand-out for the Unadilla Valley Storm boys’ basketball program. “It’s a credit to the tremendous student-athletes within our program.”
Thomsen, the latest in a long line of prominent men’s basketball head coaches at SUNY Delhi, is in his fifth year as head coach of the Broncos men’s basketball squad. With a current overall record of 82-62 in his five season, Coach Thomsen holds the distinction of being the program’s sole coach since its transition to four-year athletics, as well as its move to NCAA Division III. Prior to the move, the SUNY Delhi program was a part of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
“I always knew I wanted to be a college coach,” said Thomsen. “All of my greatest mentors – outside of my parents – were my coaches. I wanted to be able to be that for the next generation of college basketball players.”
Before getting his start in the coaching world, Thomsen continued his playing career after multiple years under Storm head coach Matt Osborne as a part of the Onondaga Community College Lazers squad. He then moved on to finish his college career at West Virginia University Institute of Technology where in his senior year at the point guard position, he led the Mid-South Conference in assists and earned Mid-South Academic All-Conference honors.
Following his four years of playing at the collegiate level, Thomsen returned to New York to began his coaching career with the Lazers (2010 to 2012). Thomsen then became an assistant coach at Le Moyne College from 2012 to 2014, and helped lead the Dolphins to a 17-12 record in 2013-14 and a NCAA Division II Tournament berth. While on the coaching staff at Le Moyne, Thomsen earned his Master’s.
Thomsen then served his final stint as an assistant coach in the 2014-2015 season at Shepherd University. At the conclusion of the year, the Broncos head coach position became available and the South New Berlin native applied and was hired shortly after.
“Coming to Delhi was an easy decision for me,” he said. “It was an opportunity to get back close to home and become a head coach – win-win for everyone.”
In his rookie season at the helm, Thomsen guided the Broncos to a 17-13 record. While his 2016-17 squad posted a 13-17 mark, Thomsen coached the program’s first four-year All-American in David Haye, who earned United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Second Team accolades.
The 2017-18 team improved to a 15-15 record, and reached the Northeastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NIAC) Tournament. The Broncos had several memorable wins during Thomsen’s third year, including an upset of Berkeley on November 19, snapping the three-time defending national champions’ 56-game winning streak. Jordan Fragale, a senior currently on the Broncos, received USCAA All-American Honorable Mention to become Thomsen’s second All-American.
The following season was one for the SUNY Delhi history books as the 2018-2019 Broncos won the the program’s first NCAA Division III conference title. Starting the season at 5-8, the Broncos finished by winning 12 of their final 14 games – ten of them on their home floor – for a 17-10 record. Entering the ACAA Tournament as the second seed, the Broncos won both games in come-from-behind fashion in the final seconds. Overcoming a double digit deficit in both contests, Delhi’s Fragle hit the game winner to put the Broncos on top in each game to earn the Most Valuable Player award. Thomsen was named the ACAA Coach of the Year for the first time in his career and Fragale earned First-Team All-ACAA and his second straight USCAA All-American Honorable Mention.
Coach Thomsen’s squad completed a record-setting weekend during the ACAA conference championship, hosted by SUNY Delhi, to capture their second straight ACAA title. The Broncos treated their home crowd by setting a single-game scoring record with 118 points in their 118-70 semifinals win over Valley Forge on Saturday. They then held Pine Manor to a record-low 42 points in the championship game Sunday for a 94-42 victory, marking their third win of the season over the Gators after a regular-season sweep.
The two wins also propelled Delhi to its first 20-win season under the fifth-year Coach Thomsen, and first overall since 2013-14. The Broncos are on a 10-game winning streak and have captured 13 of their previous 14.
“I’ve really been fortunate to coach a great group of kids these last two years,” said the Broncos head coach. “They work extremely hard all year round to give themselves an opportunity to be in a position to compete in the national tournament this week. I’m just really happy for them.”
The SUNY Delhi men’s basketball team’s ACAA Championship season was further rewarded as four of his Broncos earned All-ACAA selections. Fragale (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) was chosen as the ACAA’s Player of the Year in addition to First Team honors while sophomore guard/forward Mavenson Therneus (Spring Valley, NY/Spring Valley) was selected to the All-ACAA First Team.
Senior forward Payton Dean (Harpursville, NY/Harpursville) and sophomore guard Glenn Butler (White Plains, NY/White Plains) were named All-ACAA Honorable Mentions.
SUNY Delhi was awarded the third seed for next week’s USCAA Division I National Tournament at Penn State Fayette (Uniontown, Pa.). Delhi will play sixth-seed Holy Family in the first round on Thursday, March 12 at 12 p.m.
This marks the Broncos’ first-ever USCAA National Tournament appearance, and first national tournament appearance since 2011-12.