Jay Herkelman has been the head men’s basketball coach at Coffeyville Community College since 1995. In 28 years as the head coach at CCC, he has a career mark of 729-217 (.771 winning percentage).  The Red Ravens have won 15 conference titles in Herkelman’s tenure at Coffeyville.  He has won 15 Jayhawk East Coach of the Year awards and has been named Region VI Coach of the Year five times.  Herkelman has also been awarded Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year five times.  He is the winningest coach in Jayhawk Conference and Region VI history.  In 2018 Herkleman was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame.

 

Herkelman and the Red Ravens are coming off a 2022-23 season that saw them post a 24-8 record.

 

In 2020-21, Herkelman led Coffeyville to a 27-3 record including the KJCCC East Championship. Herkelman then guided the Red Ravens to the promise land, winning the NJCAA Division I Men’s National Basketball Championship.  Coffeyville defeated Cowley College 108-99 to earn the Championship.  Coach Herkelman was selected as the National Coach of the Tournament.

 

In 2018-19, Herkelman led the Ravens to a second straight Jayhawk East title ending with a 19-1 record in conference play and 31-4 record overall.  Coffeyville won their opening two NJCAA national tournament games making eight times a Coffeyville team has won at least once at the tournament for Herkelman. The 2018-19 season ended with a loss to Ranger College in the NJCAA Tournament semifinals.

 

Herkelman guided the 2017-18 Red Raven team to a 29-5 overall record which included a 22-4 conference record. The Red Ravens won the 2018 Region VI Tournament and earned a birth into the NJCAA Tournament.

 

2016-17 saw Herkelman lead the Red Ravens to a 22-13 overall record.  However, Coffeyville had a strong finish to the season winning the Region VI Tournament with a thrilling overtime win of Hutchinson.  With that win, the Ravens again earned a trip to the NJCAA Tournament. 

 

Under Herkelman’s guidance, the Ravens won seven straight conference 

championships from 2001 to 2007.  

 

2001-2002: 36-2 placed second in NJCAA Tournament (lost by 1 point)

2002-2003: 29-9 placed eighth in NJCAA Tournament

2003-2004: 31-7 placed fifth in NJCAA Tournament

2005-2006: 33-5 placed seventh in NJCAA Tournament

2006-2007: 33-5 placed third in NJCAA Tournament

2010-2011: 33-5 placed fifth in NJCAA Tournament

2012-2013: 32-3 made Sweet 16 NJCAA Tournament

2016-2017: 22-13 made NJCAA Tournament 

2017-2018: 29-5 made NJCAA Tournament

2018-2019: 31-4 placed fourth in NJCAA Tournament

2019-2020: 26-8 made NJCAA Tournament (Covid Cancelled)

2020-2021: 27-3 NJCAA National Champions

 

Herkelman was the first coach in KJCCC Men’s Basketball history to win the Region VI Championship in back-to-back-to-back seasons.  

 

A native of Clinton, Iowa, Herkelman was a two-year starter at Southeastern Community College in Burlington, Iowa, from 1981-83.  After being recruited by the University of Dubuque (Iowa), he played two successful seasons for the Spartans.  After his playing career concluded, Herkelman coached at the University of Dubuque for two seasons and then went to Fort Hays State where he earned his master’s degree. Following Fort Hays State, Herkelman made coaching stops at Eastern New Mexico University and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before taking on the head coaching duties at Coffeyville Community College.  

 

He has had numerous players in his career move on to four-year colleges and universities.  One notable athlete under Herkelman’s leadership was Reggie Evans, a starter for the Ravens in 1999 and 2000.  Evans retired from the NBA in 2015, finishing his 13-year career with the Sacramento Kings.

 

Herkelman and his wife Leslie have three daughters;  Abbie, Emma, and Halle.