Southwestern College Men's Basketball

Matt O'Brien's has been the Head Coach at Southwestern for 13 seasons. In 2018 OBrien became the winningest coach in the history of Southwestern, while being named KCAC coach of the year.  OBrien has had twelve straight winning seasons, seven 20 win seasons, and is 15 wins shy of 300 wins, which puts him amongst the most active winning coaches in the NAIA.     During the OBrien era, SC has been heavily-involved in the community. The 2015 team was awarded the Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of Character Team Award, which the Builders won in 2012 as well.  The award is issued to one college team in each sport that exemplifies character and sportsmanship during practice, competition, on campus, and in the community. The mens basketball team participates in several community service projects throughout the year, including packaging meals, participating in a reading programs with children at a local elementary schools, The Moundbuilders commitment to service continues through the season, with the team participating in both the Samaritans Feet movement and the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative, and Mental Health Awareness night during the regular season.I love working at SC for an administration who truly values character and service to the community, O'Brien said The Builders have been excellent in the classroom as well, winning three NAIA Scholar Team awards and have had a team GPA over 3.0 eight of 11 years during the OBrien era OBrien has also served nationally for the NAIA on the All-American Committee as well the NAIA national tournament committee from 2012- 2015.  This year Coach OBrien was selected as one of the coaches for the NAIA all-star game as well as serve on the selection committee.   O'Brien's first stop as a head coach was at Central Christian College in McPherson, Kan., 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 three Kansas 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 berth 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. In 2017 OBrien was also selected as the Head Coach of United World Athletes 19U team where he guided the USA to a 6-1 record and the Bronze medal at the United World Games held in Austria.   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, N.Y. and attending high school in Conway Springs, Kan., 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.     I am thankful for leadership President Andrews and his administration provide for me and our program, especially during these difficult times. Fortunately, our administration, faculty, and staff have done an excellent job of leading and caring for our students, which has created a sense of pride to be a part of the Builder community. The current issues also give us as coaches an opportunity to model positive leadership during a time of adversity.  Our mission as coaches is to make our players better young men.  We want our players to learn how to manage their emotions, stress, overcome adversity, be a team, and compete with integrity on the court and in the classroom."     O'Brien, has one daughter, Macy, who will turn 13 in November.   Coach OBrien Accomplishments   All-Time winningest coach in Southwestern College history   2019 Kansas Basketball Coaches College Coach of the year   2018 KCAC Coach of the year   Coached 2019 National Player of the Year   11 straight winning seasons   6 straight 20 win seasons   2017-18 KCAC championship is the first Conference Championship since 2005-06   27 wins in 2017-18 are the 2nd most wins in school history   Ranked as high as #6 in the nation   Led Builders to 4 straight KCAC tournament championship games   National Tournament Appearance 2 of the last 3 years   First ever National Tournament win in school history   Back to Back Sweet 16 appearances   First ever Sweet 16 in school history   Has coached 4 All-Americans   Has coached 27 All-Conference Selections   Has coached Southwesterns All-Time leader in scoring and rebounding (Cameron Clark)   2 time National Champion of Character Team   7 Team Scholar awards   Was selected twice to represent the USA to coach internationally with overall 11-2 record   Led his team to a Bronze medal in the 2018 United World Games

Micah Gabler is in his third year with the Southwestern College mens basketball program, serving as an assistant coach. A native of Mishawaka, Indiana, Gabler previously worked as a student assistant for the mens basketball team at Bethel University, where he contributed to the program's success, helping the team qualify for the NAIA National Tournament twice, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2021.  Gabler joined Southwestern in June 2022 as a graduate assistant, where his responsibilities include preparing scouting reports, recruiting, organizing on-campus events, and monitoring player development and academics. Since his arrival, the Builders have made back-to-back National Tournament appearances and claimed one KCAC Championship, extending their streak to three tournaments since the 2021-22 season. Gabler graduated from Bethel University with a bachelors degree in Sports Studies in 2022 and is currently pursuing a masters degree in Leadership at Southwestern College.

I am currently an assistant coach for Southwestern College. I have been here for two years, my first year we finished 24-6 and #9 in the country, this past year we finished 18-11 and made it to the conference playoffs. We are one of the top NAIA programs in the country year in and year out. 

I am going into my second season as a Graduate Assistant at Southwestern College located in Winfield, KS. I am from Emporia, KS. During my undergraduate I was a Student Assistant at Emporia State University.