MSU-N's Shawn Huse named a Top 50 most impactful men's basketball coach

Shawn Huse has won more games than any coach in the history of Montana State University-Northern men's basketball. He's won 372 to be exact.

So, it's only fitting that, Huse was named to a list of coaches who are the most impactful at his level.

Silver Waves Media, a major high school and college sports service, recently named Huse one of the 50 most impactful men's basketball coaches at the NCAA Division II or NAIA level. Huse was just one of two coaches from the Frontier Conference to make the list, with University of Providence head coach Steve Keller also being named.

The winningest coach in Northern history, Huse owns a 372-203 (.647) overall record in 18 seasons which ranks him 17th in wins among active NAIA men's basketball coaches, and fifth among that group for active winning percentage. He has led the Lights to five NAIA national tournaments, five Frontier Conference titles (league or tournament), 11 20-win seasons, and NAIA Top 25 rankings in 14 of his last 17 seasons.

Huse was also a successful assistant coach prior to his time at Montana State Northern. At Nebraska-Kearney, he helped lead the team to two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Championships, two regular-season titles, and a school-record 18 consecutive games won in two seasons. He was able to do the same in two seasons at Montana Tech where the Orediggers enjoyed back-to-back conference tournament championships and national tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999.

This past season, Huse led the Lights to another Frontier semifinal berth and the brink of an NAIA tourney appearance, though the event was ultimately called off due to COVID-19. Northern went 20-12 and 9-9 in the Frontier, including winning 11 of their final 13 Frontier games. Northern also went a stellar 12-4 at home this past season.

Keller, who was also a longtime head coach at Montana Western, before moving to Providence two seasons ago was among the Top 50 coaches as well, while Carroll College head coach Kurt Paulson and Lewis-Clark State head man Austin Johnson were named to the Top 15 up-and-comers list.