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.
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."
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.
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