Doug Karleskint
Head Coach | 9th Season | 124-102 (.548)
Doug Karleskint is in his ninth season as head coach of the Central Missouri men’s basketball program in 2022-23.
Karleskint’s Mules have won 20 or more games three times in seven years. His 25 wins in 2014-15 are the most ever for a first-year head coach in program history as the Mules advanced to the second round of the NCAA Regional Championship. Karleskint has also led the Mules to an MIAA Championship game and four MIAA Tournament appearances.
In 2017-18 Central Missouri won 20 games for the fifth time in six seasons and third with Karleskint on the bench. The Mules went 20-10 and 11-8 in the MIAA to place fifth in the league standings. UCM won their opening round game and went 1-1 in the MIAA Tournament. The Mules once again had three All-MIAA in Spencer Reaves, Jakob Lowrance and DJ Richardson. Reaves made the MIAA First Team while Lowrance was selected to the Third Team. Richardson was an Honorable Mention and made the All-Defensive Team. Reaves and Lowrance were also successful in the classroom and were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
For the third straight year, the Mules placed three on the All-MIAA team in Lowrance, Jafar Kinsey and Daniel Farris. Lowrance became a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and the first in program history to make the First Team following the 2018-19 season.
In 2016-17, the Mules went 21-9 and made it to their first MIAA Championship game under Karleskint before falling to eventual National Champion Northwest Missouri State. UCM went 13-6 in MIAA action to finish second in the regular season standings as well as a runner-up finish in the MIAA Tournament. At home, the Mules went 10-3 in the Multipurpose Building and finished in the top 10 in Division II in home attendance averaging 1,851 fans per game, good for eighth best.
Karleskint coached three players to All-MIAA accolades, including second team honors for junior guard Spencer Reaves, who was also named a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American.
In 2015-16, the Mules got off to a fast start, racing out to a 7-0 record and reaching as high as No. 12 in the national rankings. The Mules stumbled late in the season, however, losing six straight games in the month of February. A win at Lindenwood secured a spot in the MIAA Tournament, but the Mules fell in the opening round to finish the season at 14-15. Two Mules, D’Marnier Cunningham and Spencer Reaves were named to the All-MIAA Team.
In the summer of 2016, Karleskint was selected to coach the United States Division II Men’s Basketball Team on a tour of Brazil. The D2 All-Star team included a pair of his own players in Reaves and Jakob Lowrance.
In his first season in Warrensburg, Karleskint led the Mules to a 25-7 record, a runner-up finish in the MIAA, and the team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He became the fourth Mules’ head coach to win 20 or more games in his first season.
He coached five players to All-MIAA honors, including first team accolades for senior forward Brennen Hughes, who was also named Second Team NABC All-District, and two All-MIAA Defensive Team awards.
He came to UCM after spending the previous five seasons at Great American Conference member Arkansas Tech, including the last four as head coach of the Wonder Boys.
Karleskint compiled a 90-34 record during his time as the head coach at Arkansas Tech. His Wonder Boy teams captured four straight conference championships and made four straight appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2012.
His first team at ATU in 2010-11 went 24-6 overall and 13-1 to capture the Gulf South Conference West Championship. He was named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year.
Karleskint’s 2011-12 Wonder Boys squad went 26-6, including 13-3 in the inaugural season of the Great American Conference. He won the league’s first Coach of the Year award.
The 2012-13 squad again captured the Great American Conference regular season title, going 13-7 in league play and 18-12 overall and qualifying for the NCAA-II Central Regional.
In his final season at Arkansas Tech, Karleskint guided the Wonder Boys to a 21-10 overall mark and another GAC regular season title with a 15-4 conference record. ATU advanced to the NCAA-II Central Regional, where they fell to Central Missouri in the opening round. He was once again awarded Coach of the Year honors by the Great American Conference.
Karleskint coached 11 all-conference performers during his tenure at Arkansas Tech, including one Great American Conference (GAC) Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and an All-American.
Prior to his time as head coach, Karleskint served as the top assistant for the Wonder Boys in 2009-10 when the team went 30-2, won the Gulf South Conference title and finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Before ATU, he served two seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks posted a 50-14 record in those two years and won two Southland Conference Regular Season Crowns. They advanced to the NIT in 2007-08 and the NCAA Tournament in 2008-09 after winning the Southland Conference tournament title.
Karleskint was a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State from 2005-07 and helped the Bearcats to a 46-17 record, an MIAA championship and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Fort Scott, Kan., native earned his bachelor’s degree from Mid-America Nazarene University in 2003. He and his wife, Kyla, have two sons, Jadin and Jackson.
| Doug Karleskint Year-by-Year |
|
|
Overall |
|
|
Conf. |
|
| Year |
School |
W |
L |
|
|
W |
L |
Finish |
| 2010-11 |
Arkansas Tech |
24 |
6 |
* |
|
13 |
1 |
1st |
| 2011-12 |
Arkansas Tech |
26 |
6 |
* |
|
13 |
3 |
1st |
| 2012-13 |
Arkansas Tech |
18 |
12 |
* |
|
13 |
7 |
1st |
| 2013-14 |
Arkansas Tech |
21 |
10 |
* |
|
15 |
4 |
1st |
|
Arkansas Tech Totals - four years |
89 |
34 |
|
|
54 |
15 |
|
| 2014-15 |
Central Missouri |
25 |
7 |
* |
|
14 |
5 |
2nd |
| 2015-16 |
Central Missouri |
14 |
15 |
|
|
8 |
14 |
12th |
| 2016-17 |
Central Missouri |
21 |
9 |
|
|
13 |
6 |
2nd |
| 2017-18 |
Central Missouri |
20 |
10 |
|
|
11 |
8 |
5th |
| 2018-19 |
Central Missouri |
14 |
14 |
|
|
7 |
12 |
11th |
| 2019-20 |
Central Missouri |
10 |
18 |
|
|
5 |
14 |
12th |
| 2020-21 |
Central Missouri |
7 |
15 |
|
|
7 |
15 |
12th |
| 2021-22 |
Central Missouri |
13 |
14 |
|
|
10 |
12 |
8th |
|
Central Missouri Totals - eight years |
124 |
102 |
|
|
75 |
86 |
|
|
Career Totals - 12 years |
213 |
136 |
|
|
119 |
101 |
|
| * - NCAA Tournament |
