Mark Prosser

Last updated
Mark Prosser
Current position
Title Head coach
Team Winthrop
Conference Big South
Record55–41 (.573)
Biographical details
Born Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
Alma mater Marist ('02)
Playing career
1998–1999 Marist
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1999–2002 Marist (student assistant)
2002–2003 Wofford (assistant)
2003–2008 Bucknell (assistant)
2008–2011Wofford (assistant)
2011–2012 Brevard
2012–2018 Winthrop (assistant)
2018–2021 Western Carolina
2021–presentWinthrop
Head coaching record
Overall97–117 (.453)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards

Mark Prosser is an American college basketball coach and current head coach of the Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team.

Contents

Playing career

Prosser played one season of basketball at Marist before injuries stopped a playing career. [1] He continued on with the Red Foxes as a student assistant coach until his graduation in 2002. [2]

Coaching career

Coaching beginnings

After graduation, Prosser landed his first assistant coaching position at Wofford under Mike Young, where he stayed for one season before heading to Bucknell for a five-year stint as an assistant for Pat Flannery, where he was part of the Bison staff when the team upset Kansas during the 2005 NCAA tournament. [3] Prosser returned to Wofford in 2008 where he stayed until 2011 when he accepted the head coaching job at Division II Brevard College. [4] In one season at Brevard, Prosser recorded a 5-23 record, and subsequently resigned his position to accept a coaching position under Pat Kelsey at Winthrop. [5]

Western Carolina

On March 27, 2018, Prosser became the 18th head coach in Western Carolina history, replacing Larry Hunter. [6]

2018-19: First season

Prosser led the Catamounts to a 7–25 record (4–14 in the Southern Conference) in his first season.

2019-20: 12 win improvement

In his second season at Western Carolina, Prosser guided the Catamounts to a 19-12 record as WCU finished with the second-most improved mark across NCAA Division I men's basketball. The Catamounts reached the SoCon Tournament semifinals for the first time since the 2015–16 season, and had a pair of First Team All-Southern Conference and NABC All-District players in senior forward Carlos Dotson and redshirt junior guard Mason Faulkner. College Insider recognized Prosser's achievement as he was honored with the Skip Prosser 'Man of the Year' Award, named after his father. [7]

2020-21: COVID struggles

Coming into 2020–21 looking to continue off last season's success, Prosser led the team to an 11–16 record (4–13 in Southern Conference). After a 7–2 start, the Catamounts struggled in conference play, winning just 4 of their next 17 games and losing in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament.

Winthrop

On April 2, 2021, Prosser's return to Winthrop was made official, as he replaced Pat Kelsey as head coach. Prosser previously served as Associate Head Coach for the team from 2013–2018. [8] Six games into his first season, the Eagles beat the University of Washington to notch Prosser's first win as head coach at WU against a Power 5 conference and Winthrop's first win ever against a PAC-12 team. [9] The 2021–22 team went undefeated at home (13-0), which hadn't been done since the nationally ranked 2006–07 team, [10] and finished the regular season first in the South Division and second overall in the Big South. Prosser's 14 regular season league wins are tied for the most all time in the history of the Big South for a first year Head Coach in the league alongside Terry Truax who won 14 games in 1992–93. [10] Additionally, Prosser's 23 wins on the season are the most in Winthrop and Big South history for a coach in his first year. [11] [12]

Personal life

Prosser is the son of the late Skip Prosser, the former head coach at Xavier and Wake Forest. [13]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Brevard Tornados (South Atlantic Conference)(2011–2012)
2011–12Brevard 5–234–148th
Brevard:5–23 (.179)4–14 (.222)
Western Carolina Catamounts (Southern Conference)(2018–2021)
2018–19 Western Carolina 7–254–14T–8th
2019–20 Western Carolina 19–1210–8T–5th
2020–21 Western Carolina 11–164–139th
Western Carolina:37–53 (.411)18–35 (.340)
Winthrop (Big South Conference)(2021–present)
2021–22 Winthrop 23–914–21st (South)
2022–23 Winthrop 15–1710–8T–4th
2023–24 Winthrop 17–158–84th
Winthrop:55–41 (.573)32–18 (.640)
Total:97–117 (.453)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skip Prosser</span> American basketball player and coach

George Edward "Skip" Prosser was an American college basketball coach who was head men's basketball coach at Wake Forest University at the time of his death. He was the only coach in NCAA history to take three separate schools to the NCAA tournament in his first year coaching the teams. In 21 years as a collegiate coach, he made 18 postseason appearances.

Larry Hunter was an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head basketball coach at Wittenberg University from 1976 to 1989, Ohio University from 1989 to 2001, and Western Carolina University from 2005 to 2018, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 702–453. As head coach of the Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team from 1989 to 2001, he had a record of 204–148. His Bobcats teams made one NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament appearance in 1994, an NIT appearance in 1995, and won the Preseason NIT in 1994. Despite his winning record and being second on Ohios' all-time wins list with only two losing seasons, he was fired in 2001. Hunter also played at Ohio University from 1970 to 1971.

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The Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award is an award given annually to the nation's men's head basketball coach in NCAA Division I competition who also exhibits strong moral character. The award was established in 2008 and is named for head coach Skip Prosser, who spent most of his coaching tenure at Xavier and Wake Forest. Prosser is the only coach in NCAA history to lead three separate teams to the NCAA Tournament in his first season with the team. Prosser died from a heart attack on July 26, 2007, at age 56.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–23 Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2022–23 Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team represented Winthrop University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by second-year head coach Mark Prosser, played their home games at the Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, South Carolina as members of the Big South Conference.

References

  1. ↑ "Mark Prosser College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Mark Prosser - Men's Basketball Coach". WinthropEagles.com. Winthrop University. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Mark Prosser Profile". BucknellBison.com. Bucknell University. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Mark Prosser Named Head Coach At Brevard College". WoffordTerriers.com. Wofford College. September 14, 2011. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Prosser resigns as Men?s Basketball Coach". BCTornados.com. Brevard College. 12 April 2012. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Western Carolina Names Mark Prosser Head Men's Basketball Coach". CatamountSports.com. Western Carolina University. March 27, 2018. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  7. ↑ Grandy, Steven (March 23, 2020). "Mark Prosser Receives Skip Prosser 'Man of the Year' Award". CatamountSports.com. Western Carolina University. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Prosser Tabbed As 7th Head Coach To Lead Men's Basketball Program". WinthropEagles.com. Winthrop University. April 2, 2021. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  9. ↑ Zietlow, Alex (November 28, 2021). "Winthrop makes history! What win over Washington means to record books, Eagles future". The Herald. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  10. 1 2 "Burns Jr. Double-Double Leads Eagles In Win Over Charleston Southern". WinthropEagles.com. Winthrop University. February 26, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Winthrop Eagles Index". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Eagles Fall In Big South Title Game". WinthropEagles.com. Winthrop University. March 6, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Skip Prosser's son named head coach at Western Carolina". USA Today . Associated Press. March 27, 2018. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
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