John Groce
John Groce (born September 7, 1971)
Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Akron Zips
Current conference: Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC)
Ohio record: 85-56 (.603)
Illinois record: 95-75 (.559)
Akron record: 116-70 (.624)
Overall record: 296-201 (.596)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (2010, 2012, 2013, 2022)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 1 (2012)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 3 (2014, 2015, 2017)
- CIT Appearances: 1 (2011)
- MAC Regular Season Champion: 1 (2020)
- MAC Tournament Champion: 3 (2010, 2012, 2022)
Awards:
- MAC Coach of the Year: 1 (2020)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2017-present | Akron |
| 2012-2017 | Illinois |
| 2008-2012 | Ohio |
| 2004-2008 | Ohio State (asst) |
| 2001-2004 | Xavier (asst) |
| 2000-2001 | Butler (asst) |
| 1996-2000 | NC State (asst) |
| 1993-1996 | Taylor (asst) |
John Groce Facts
- John Gordon Groce
- Born September 7, 1971
- Hometown: Muncie, Indiana
- Alma Mater: Taylor University (1994)
- Played four seasons for the Taylor Trojans before spending two seasons there as an assistant coach
- Served as an assistant under Herb Sendek at NC State for four seasons
- Was as assistant under Thad Matta for eight total seasons (one at Butler, three at Xavier and four at Ohio State)
- In four seasons as the head coach at Ohio, won two MAC Tournament titles and earned two trips to the NCAA Tournament
- The Bobcats reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2012
- Spent five years as the head coach at Illinois, going to one NCAA Tournament and three NITs
- Fired in March 2017 after going 95-75 during his tenure with the Illini
- Became the new head coach at Akron a month later, returning to the MAC and the state of Ohio
- In 2020, Groce led the Zips to a MAC title and earned MAC COY honors
- The Zips won 24 games and the 2022 MAC Tournament to earn an automatic NCAA Tournament bid
- Along with his wife, Allison, has two sons and one daughter
- Groce is the brother of longtime Xavier assistant and former head coach Travis Steele
John Groce Coaching Tree
- Dee Brown (Roosevelt)
- Chris Holtmann (Ohio State, Butler)
- Brandon Miller (Butler)
- Ryan Pedon (Illinois State)
