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Heading into his 11th season at the helm, Danny Sancomb continues to lead his alma mater on an upward men's basketball trend in the NCAA Division II and Atlantic Region ranks.
WJU Coaching Record |
Season |
Record |
2007-08 |
13-15 |
2008-09 |
14-16 |
2009-10 |
17-11 |
2010-11 |
16-12 |
2011-12 |
22-10 |
2012-13 |
19-10 |
2013-14 |
15-13 |
2014-15 |
21-10 |
2015-16 |
28-4 |
2016-17 |
25-8 |
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10 Seasons |
190-109 (.635 win pct.) |
The Cardinals come off their deepest NCAA Division II Tournament run a year ago to the 'Sweet 16' round in the Atlantic Regional final. WJU fell to eventual National Runner-up Fairmont State, 86-80. It was the program's 3rd 20-plus win season in a row and make it 53-12 in the last two years (.815).
In the 2016-17 campaign, Sancomb directed his team to its most wins in a year at 28-4 overall. For the first time in University history, WJU earned the NABC's No. 1 ranking in the nation on Feb. 23 and finished No. 6 in the final NABC regular season poll. The Cardinals hosted the program's first NCAA DII Atlantic Regional after they received the No. 1 seed. Sancomb's Cardinals also upset rival and then-No. 1 West Liberty, 106-83, in front of a 3,300-plus capacity crowd at WJU's McDonough Center.
With the breakthrough season, Sancomb picked up his own hardware with being named both the NABC Atlantic Region and Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year honors.
The 2015-16 WJU squad finished in the NCAA DII Top 20 in seven categories, including 5th in both win percentage (.875) and assists per game (18.2 apg), and 6th in total assists (581). The Cardinals led the MEC in field goal percentage (.498), field goal percentage defense (.413) and rebound margin (+6.8 rpg). Point guard Eric Siefert earned NABC All-Atlantic Region status and played in the Reese's NABC All-Star Game.
With last season's impressive year, Sancomb improved his 10-year career record to 190-109 (.635 win percentage) at the WJU helm. The Severn, Maryland native has now led WJU to four 20-win seasons and three in a row. WJU has a 74-22 mark over the last three campaigns for a .771 win percentage as the program's rise up the ranks.
The WJU coach directed the 2014-15 team to a 21-10 record and won 15 of its final 18 contests. The Cardinals ran to the MEC Tournament semifinals, before they fell to NCAA Regional qualifier Fairmont State.
During the 2011-12 season, Sancomb guided the Cardinals to a 22-10 overall record and 16-6 mark in conference play, which included a win over the NCAA's No. 1 team in the country. In addition, WJU secured their first NCAA Tournament win in school history, over WVIAC-rival University of Charleston, advanced to the NCAA's round of 32 and ranked nationally in several statistical catagories.
The Cardinals were second in the country in scoring and assists with 88 points per game and 20 assists per game. WJU also boasted the third-best field goal percentage, shooting 53 percent as a team, and were ranked eighth in the country from beyond the arc at 41 percent. All-Atlantic Region and All-WVIAC selection, Steve Catich, finished as the NCAA's eighth leading scorer with 20.7 points per game.
Before taking the head job at WJU, he was head boys’ basketball coach and athletic director at St. Mary’s Ryken High School, where he led a team that had never before won a game in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) to back-to-back winning seasons.
Under Sancomb’s leadership, the team became one of the highest-rated in the Washington D.C. area, earning rankings of #5 (Rise Magazine) and #7 (Washington Post). After his first season as a head coach at St. Mary’s Ryken, Sancomb was honored with the prestigious 2005-06 WCAC Coach of the Year Award. Before his head coaching success at St. Mary’s Ryken, Sancomb was an assistant men’s coach at Wheeling Jesuit.
A Maryland high school basketball standout, Sancomb began his collegiate career at Howard Community College (HCC) in Columbia, Md., where he twice was second in the country in scoring and helped Howard record back-to-back 20 win seasons. He scored 1620 career points at HCC and was named first team All-Maryland Junior College, HCC Athlete of the year, Maryland Junior College Player of the Year, and MVP of the Charm City Junior College All-Star Game.
His playing career at Wheeling Jesuit was equally impressive. Sancomb was the WVIAC’s leading scorer for two successive years, and was the NCAA’s leading DII scorer in the nation with 27.2 points per game. He is Wheeling Jesuit’s sixth all-time leading scorer with 1454 points, and was named MPV of the 1998 Cardinals and the Wendy’s Tip-Off Tournament. Sancomb was also named to the NABC/Chevrolet Division II All-American Team and the First Team All-East Region.
While at Wheeling Jesuit, Sancomb earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s in business administration. He resides in Wheeling with his wife, Becky, and their sons – Eli, Luke and Jack.