Zach Spiker

Zach Spiker

Spiker coaching at Army in 2011
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Drexel
Conference	CAA
Record	144–159 (.475)
Biographical details
Born	(1976-09-30) September 30, 1976 (age 49) Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S.
Alma mater	Ithaca College (2000)
Playing career
1996–2000	Ithaca
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2000–2002	Winthrop (GA)
2004–2009	Cornell (asst.)
2009–2016	Army
2016–present	Drexel
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2002–2004	West Virginia (admin. asst.)
Head coaching record
Overall	246–271 (.476)
Tournaments	0–1 (NCAA Division I) 0–1 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
CAA tournament (2021)
Awards
Patriot League Coach of the Year (2013) Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award (2016)

Zachary John Spiker (born September 30, 1976) is an American college basketball coach who is the current head basketball coach for the Drexel Dragons.

Early life

A native of Morgantown, West Virginia, Spiker attended The Hill School ^[1] before playing college basketball at Ithaca College. ^{[2] [3]}

Coaching career

Cornell (2004-2009)

Spiker served for five years as assistant coach for Cornell Big Red under head coach Steve Donahue. ^[4] In 2009, he was hired by the Army Black Knights to replace the recently-fired Jim Crews. ^[5]

Army (2009—2016)

In the 2012–13 season, Spiker lead Army to its first overall winning record since 1984–85 (a drought of 28 years), and also the Black Knights' first ever winning record in the Patriot League. For his efforts, Spiker was named 2012-13 Patriot League Coach of the Year, ^[6] the first Army head coach in eleven years to win the award. ^[7]

Spiker has joined Bob Knight and Mike Krzyzewski as the only coaches in Army history to win at least 65 games in their first five seasons. ^[8]

In 2013–14, the Black Knights set a school record for wins in the Patriot League (10), had only their second season with a winning conference record, and had their first ever back-to-back seasons with winning conference records - all under Spiker.^{[ citation needed ]}

Finally, under Spiker, Army had its first four-year streak of 15 plus wins (2012–16) since 1920–24. ^[9]

Drexel (2016–present)

On March 25, 2016, Spiker was hired as head coach of Drexel to replace former head coach Bruiser Flint. ^[10] His first year at Drexel concluded with a 9-23 record. ^[11]

On February 22, 2018, Spiker led Drexel to a 34-point comeback win over Delaware, the largest comeback win in Division 1 history. ^[12]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Army Black Knights (Patriot League)(2009–2016)
2009–10	Army	14–15	4–10	8th
2010–11	Army	11–19	3–11	8th
2011–12	Army	12–18	5–9	6th
2012–13	Army	16–15	8–6	4th
2013–14	Army	15–16	10–8	5th
2014–15	Army	15–15	6–12	10th
2015–16	Army	19–14	9–9	T–4th	CIT first round
Army:		102–112 (.477)	45–65 (.409)
Drexel Dragons (Coastal Athletic Association)(2016–present)
2016–17	Drexel	9–23	3–15	10th
2017–18	Drexel	13–20	6–12	T–7th
2018–19	Drexel	13–19	7–11	T–6th
2019–20	Drexel	14–19	6–12	8th
2020–21	Drexel	12–8	4–5	6th	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2021–22	Drexel	15–14	10–8	T–4th
2022–23	Drexel	17–15	10–8	5th
2023–24	Drexel	20–12	13–5	2nd
2024–25	Drexel	18–15	9–9	T–7th
2025–26	Drexel	15–14	9–7
Drexel:		144–159 (.475)	75–92 (.449)
Total:		246–271 (.476)
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

Personal life

He is married to Jennifer DePrez, a former college soccer player for the University of Rochester. They have 3 children. ^[13]

References

1. "Zach Spiker says love for Philly 'attracted' him to Drexel job". March 30, 2016.
2. "Zach Spiker, Head Men's Basketball Coach". United States Military Academy. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
3. Armstrong, Kevin (January 2010). "Army Feels the Energy of a Youthful New Coach (Published 2010)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022.
4. "Zach Spiker - Assistant Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
5. "Army selects Cornell assistant Spiker as coach". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2025. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
6. "Parker Executive". www.parkersearch.com. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
7. "Patriot League Coach of the Year Winner". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
8. Norlander, Matt (December 9, 2015). "LOOK: Army coach honors 50th anniversary of Bob Knight's first win". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
9. "2015-16 ARMY WEST POINT MEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON HIGHLIGHTS" (PDF). Army West Point. 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
10. "Army's Spiker hired as Drexel's next coach". ESPN.com. March 24, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
11. "2016-17 Drexel Dragons Men's Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
12. "Drexel 85-83 Delaware (Feb 22, 2018) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
13. "Jennifer DePrez Spiker". www.rochester.edu. Retrieved February 22, 2026.

External links

• Drexel Dragons profile