Matt O'Brien is entering his third season as the Head Coach for the Southwestern College Moundbuilders. The Builders finished with a record of 16-12 after a season plagued with injuries.  Last season the Builders did not reach all of their goals on the court but did exceed them off the court with a 3.3 team GPA, and being named a Scholar-Athlete team.  SC finished 4th in total GPA out of 245 schools in the NAIA playing basketball.  Builders also received other academic honors including eight players being named Academic All Conference as well as NABC honors off the court.  Two players were named Academic All Americans. The Builders also had successful community involvement with Big Brothers/ Big Sisters and have increased their community involvement with developing a reading program for elementary students and supporting the Numana project where the Men's team, along with other SC students, helped package over 30,000 meals.

O'Brien's first stop as a head coach was at Central Christian College, McPherson, KS, where he led the Tigers to the most wins in 24 years, as well as two postseason appearances.  While at CCC, O'Brien established himself as a solid recruiter, bringing in 3 KS All-State players for the 2006-2007 season.   For the 08-09 season at CCC, he also managed to snag the nation's leading scorer.  

Coach O'Brien has been familiar with the KCAC for several years.  Prior to Central Christian College, O'Brien was an Assistant Coach at Friends University for seven years, helping to guide the Falcons to their first National tournament birth in school history.  Coach O'Brien coached four years under the late legendary Coach Ron Heller.  Following Heller, he stayed for three years as an Assistant Coach under Coach Dale Faber.  During his stint at Friends, O'Brien had the opportunity to be the Head Coach for a select group of college players, traveling to Spain and France, where his team went 3-1 in international play.  As a player, he was a guard for the Falcons for three seasons and was named "Most Inspirational Player" in his final season. 

Coach O'Brien comes from a diverse background growing up in Brooklyn, NY and attending high school in Conway Springs, KS where he received the Most Valuable Player Award in his Junior and Senior Year. Following high school, Coach O'Brien received his undergraduate degree from Friends University in Physical Education and completed his Masters in Management in 2003. O'Brien has also completed a Servant Leadership online course through University of Idaho.

Coaching basketball runs in the O'Brien family.  Coach O'Brien's uncle, Jim O'Brien, is the former Head Men's Basketball Coach at both Ohio State University and Boston College.  His younger brother James, a former All-Conference guard for the Friends Falcons, is the Head Boys coach for Conway Springs High School.

O'Brien likes to take a family approach to coaching and he includes his own family in the process.  "I am blessed to have the unwavering support of my family to do what I love to do"  O'Brien states, "I am again humbled by the support President Merriman and his administration provides for me and our program program, as well as the mentorship our athletic director Dave Denly provides for our athletic department and our basketball team.  I want our players to understand that we have a responsibility to give back to our community and others as we have been blessed to be a part of SC. Our coaching staff works hard to ensure that each player reaches their full potential at Southwestern, not only as basketball players, but as young men." 

O'Brien and his wife, Krys, have one daughter, Macy, who will turn three in November and they reside in Winfield. 

Coach O'Brien's coaching philosophy is simple and direct:

1.  DO WHAT IS RIGHT. 

2.  DO THE BEST YOU CAN. 

3.  TREAT OTHERS THE WAY YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED.

Coach Matt O'Brien is excited to have Miser as an assistant   "Coach Miser will assist with all aspects of the program, and provides excellent leadership in regards to our Weight Program, Tim is a great role model for our players, and I am grateful to have him on staff after a very good playing career at SC."  

Tim was born and raised in Emporia, Kansas and enjoys watching all sports and working out in his spare time.

Gene is entering his first year at Southwestern College and will be the assistant coach for the men's team as well as coach the junior varsity team.

He graduated in May 09 from Oklahoma Wesleyan with a Bachelor's degree in Communications and a minor in Management & Leadership. At Wesleyan, Gene was a National Champion of Character Award Recipient his junior and senior season. His junior year the team reached the Sweet Sixteen in the NAIA DII National Tournament.

The following season, he was part of the NAIA DII National Champions that went 35-2. Hartman was also involved in the NAIA/American Red Cross Youth Leadership Program.

Gene was raised in Sand Springs, OK and now resides in Winfield.

GETTING TO KNOW RODNEY...

As a Sophomore (2011-12):

As a Freshman (2010-11):

Before Southwestern:
Played basketball at Clearwater High School in Clearwater, Kansas....Home of the Indians.

Personal:
Born July 10, 1992 in Lawrence, Kansas...Full name is Rodney Joseph Marner...Son of Angela and Delbert Black and Craig Marner...Majoring in Physical Education.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH RODNEY...
1. Favorite Movie: Glory Road
2. Favorite Place to Eat in Winfield: Golden Dragon
3. Five Things You Can't Live Without: God, Family, Friends, Basketball, Phone
4. Favorite SC Instructor: Pam Green
5. Why did you Choose SC? The basketball program and family environment.

GETTING TO KNOW TAYLOR...

As a Sophomore (2012-13): 

As a Freshman (2011-12):

Before Southwestern:
Played basketball at Winfield High School in Winfield, Kansas....Home of the Vikings.

Personal:
Born October 28, 1992 in Winfield, Kansas....Full name is Taylor Paul Satterthwaite...Son of Julie Mignone and Paul Satterthwaite...Majoring in Physical Education.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH TAYLOR...
1. Favorite Movie: Friday Night Lights
2. Favorite Place to Eat in Winfield: My house.
3. Five Things You Can't Live Without: Basketball, My girlfriend, My family, ESPN, Food
4. Favorite SC Instructor: Coach O'brien
5. Why did you Choose SC? My family had ties here and a basketball scholarship.

GETTING TO KNOW JOSH...

As a Sophomore (2012-13): 

As a Freshman (2011-12):

Before Southwestern:
Played basketball at Sabetha High School in Sabetha, Kansas....On the Honor Roll for 4 years...Lettered in basketball for 3 years...National Mathematics Award.

Personal:
Born May, 9 1993 in Salina, Kansas....Full name is Joshua Dean Sipes...Son of Kelly and Nancy Sipes...Majoring in Mathematics and Secondary Education.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH JOSH...
1. Favorite Movie: Blazing Saddles
2. Favorite Place to Eat in Winfield: Montana Mikes
3. Five Things You Can't Live Without: Family, Church, God, Friends, Argueing
4. Favorite SC Instructor: Ed Loeb
5. Why did you Choose SC? Because i loved the tradition, campus, and teachers along with the chance to be apart of the basketball teamm.