Former Daemen University head coach Mike MacDonald will take over as St. Bonaventure’s men’s basketball coach after going 61-3 the past two seasons. Photo courtesy of St. Bonaventure Athletics

ST. BONAVENTURE — After building a national championship-contending Division II program at Daemen University, Mike MacDonald will join St. Bonaventure’s men’s basketball as the program’s 20th head coach, Vice President and Director of Athletics Bob Beretta announced Tuesday.

A 1988 alumnus of St. Bonaventure, MacDonald returns to the Enchanted Mountains to lead his alma mater in a new era of college basketball.

“We are extremely excited to bring Mike back to St. Bonaventure,” Beretta said. “As we set out to identify the next leader of our men’s basketball program, we developed a list of more than 20 characteristics that we would look for in the person who would succeed Mark Schmidt as head coach. Mike checked every box.

“First and foremost, we searched for an individual who could maintain the championship pedigree of our men’s basketball program and build on the legacy of success authored most recently by Mark, and head coaches such as Eddie Donovan, Larry Weise, Jim Satalin, Jim O’Brien and Jim Baron before him,” Beretta added.

In his last two seasons, Daemen posted a 61-3 record, going undefeated (32-0) in conference play during that span. He led the Wildcats to a Division II Elite Eight appearance in 2025-26 and back-to-back ECC Tournament championships with five first-team All-ECC honorees, including two ECC Player of the Year winners in Zach Philipkoski and Benjamin Bill. MacDonald was named National Division II Coach of the year in 2024-25, and ECC Coach of the Year in both seasons.

His 61 wins over the past two seasons are fourth-most in the NCAA at any level. Daemen’s win percentage of .968 during that span is second only behind Division II Nova Southeastern.

Over the last three years, Daemen’s win percentage of .887 ranks third in all of NCAA men’s basketball. The Wildcats were 18-3 against NCAA tournament teams during MacDonald’s last two seasons, and 21-6 during his last three at Daemen.

After stints at Canisius and Division III Medaille, MacDonald is the only coach in college basketball history to log 100 or more wins at every NCAA level.

“I have complete confidence that Mike can build upon the foundation that Mark built here,” said Dr. Jeff Gingerich, university president. “In this transient era of college athletics, to be able to keep a team together and scale the heights that Daemen did really speaks to his ability to create an environment that players want to be a part of. I don’t care what level you’re coaching at — you’re coaching against peer programs. To achieve what Mike has at Daemen is remarkable.”

MacDonald’s philosophy is built upon player and personal development, sports science, data analytics and building a culture of student-athlete retention in the program through strong bonds and lasting relationships. After achieving the No. 1 overall ranking for three consecutive weeks in the 2024-25 season, MacDonald retained 13 of 14 eligible players, including each of the Wildcats’ four leading scorers to sustain Daemen’s unprecedented success.

Daemen went 33-2 in 2025-26, winning the school’s second regional championship over Saint Anselm to reach the Elite Eight. Thirty-one of Daemen’s 33 wins were by double digits, with 14 wins by 20-plus points and five by more than 30. The Wildcats’ only two losses were to Gannon and Lander, this season’s Division II National Championship finalists.

The Wildcats posted their second straight undefeated season in the ECC and went 20-0 at home for the first time in school history. MacDonald took home ECC Coach of the Year for the second straight season, while Philipkoski was named Player of the Year and Justin Hemphill was named Defensive Player of the Year. Philipkoski, Hemphill and Bill all received first-team All-ECC honors.

In 2024-25, MacDonald led Daemen to a 28-0 start before falling in the regional semifinals to St. Thomas Aquinas. The Wildcats won the ECC regular season championship and claimed the program’s first conference tournament championship. The Wildcats were ranked first in the AP poll for three consecutive weeks during the regular season, becoming the first Division I or II school in New York state to do so since Syracuse in 2014.

At the end of the season, MacDonald was honored with the Clarence “Big House” Gaines Award, given to the best Division II head coach in the nation.

The Ridgefield, Connecticut, native racked up 265 wins over 12 seasons at Daemen, winning 75 percent of his games in leading the Wildcats to three ECC regular season championships, two ECC Tournament championships, six NCAA tournament berths and two NCAA Division II East Regional championships (2026 and 2021). In 29 seasons overall, he boasts a 522-312 (.626) record during head coaching stints at Canisius, Medaille and Daemen.

“Mike is a skilled leader with an incredible work ethic and tremendous passion for the game,” Beretta added. “He is an elite tactician whose teams play with great purpose and intensity. He is widely respected among coaches at every level for his innovative offensive sets and fierce defenses. Another thing that became readily apparent throughout the search process is the large impact Mike has made not only on his players and assistant coaches, but also those throughout the basketball community. We look forward to welcoming Mike’s wife, Maura, and sons Matt, Patrick, Nick and Mark to the Bona family.”

A news conference to introduce MacDonald will be held on Wednesday, April 8, in the Reilly Center. The time of the event will be announced at a later date.