Kurt Kanaskie

Kurt Kanaskie (born April 14, 1958)

Current position: Associate head men’s basketball coach
Current team: UNC Wilmington Seahawks (Head coach: Takayo Siddle)
Current conference: Coastal Athletic Association (CAA)
Teams coached: Lock Haven Bald Eagles, IUP Crimson Hawks, Drake Bulldogs
Lock Haven record^: 55-32 (.632)
IUP record^: 152-75 (.670)
Drake record: 62-136 (.313)
Overall record^: 269-243 (.525)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • PSAC (Div II) Regular Season Champion: (1987, 1994, 1995)
  • PSAC (Div II) Tournament Champion: (1995)
  • NCAA Division II Tournament Final Four:  1  (1995)
  • NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances:  4  (1987, 1994, 1995, 1996)

Awards:

  • PSAC (Div II) Coach of the Year:  4  (1987, 1988, 1994, 1995)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

2022-present UNC Wilmington (assoc. HC)
2020-2022 UNC Wilmington (asst)
2014-2020 Air Force (asst)
2012-2014 Virginia Tech (asst)
2011-2012 Navy (assoc. HC)
2009-2011 Penn State (assoc. HC)
2003-2009 Penn State (asst)
1996-2003 Drake
1988-1996 IUP
1985-1988 Lock Haven
1980-1985 South Carolina (asst)

Kurt Kanaskie Facts

  • Kurt Michael Kanaskie
  • Born April 14, 1958
  • Hometown: Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
  • Alma Mater: La Salle University (BS, 1980)
  • Graduated from Cumberland Valley HS (PA) and then played four seasons at La Salle for head coach Lefty Ervin
    • Helped led the Explorers to the NCAA Tournament as a senior in 1980; drafted by the Golden State Warriors that year in the 8th round (162nd overall) but never played in the NBA
  • Started his coaching career at South Carolina, where he was an assistant for five seasons under Bill E. Foster
  • Became the head coach at D-II Lock Haven (PA) in 1985, going 55-32 in three seasons as the helm
    • Left for PSAC rival Indiana University-Pennsylvania (IUP), where he was head coach for eight years (152-75 overall)
    • Won three total PSAC titles, one at Lock Haven and two at IUP, and went to the D-II NCAA Tournament four times
    • Led IUP to the D-II NCAA Final Four in 1995 after sweeping the PSAC regular season and Tournament titles
  • Moved back to the D-I ranks in 1996, becoming the head coach at Drake in the Missouri Valley
    • Went 62-136 in seven seasons at the helm, finishing below .500 each year without any postseason appearances
  • Became an assistant at Penn State under Ed DeChellis in 2003, working there for eight seasons (the last two as associate head coach); also worked for DeChellis for one season at Navy
    • Was part of the 2009 NIT Champion PSU team, as well as the squad that reached the NCAA Tournament two years later
  • Spent two years working under James Johnson at Virginia Tech and six seasons under Dave Pilipovich at Air Force
  • Hired by Takayo Siddle in 2020 to be an assistant at UNC Wilmington; elevated to associate head coach in 2022

Kirt Kanaskie Coaching Tree

  • coming soon

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division II levels