Jay Herkelman has been the head men’s basketball coach at Coffeyville Community College since 1995. In 24 years as the head coach at CCC, he has a career mark of 634-185 (.774 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 eight times.  Herkelman has also been awarded the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year five times.  He is the winningest coach in Jayhawk Conference and Region VI history.  In 2018 Herkelman was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame.

 

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 berth 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 over Hutchinson.  With that win, the Ravens again earned a trip to the NJCAA Tournament.

 

In 2012-2013, Herkelman led the Ravens to a third straight Jayhawk East title ending with an 18-0 record in conference play and 32-3 record overall.  They won their opening NCJAA national tournament game making seven times a team has won at least once at the tournament for Herkelman.

 

In 2011-2012, Herkelman coached the Ravens to a 28-4 season and in 2010-2011 to a 33-5 record.  That year, the team won their sixth Region VI championship and had a fifth-place finish at the NJCAA national tournament.  In 2009-2010 they completed a 22-12 season and finished second in the Region 6 Tournament.  In 2008-2009, the Ravens won their eighth conference championship in nine years. 

 

Under Herkelman’s guidance, the Ravens won seven straight conference championships from 2001 to 2007.  

 

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.