Kyle Cooper named NJCAA Division I Coach of the Year after Howard title run

Kyle Cooper turned Howard College into a national champion in three seasons, and the NJCAA rewarded the run by naming him the 2026 Division I Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year. The honor followed a 33-4 season, Howard’s second national title in program history and first since 2010.

The case for Cooper went far beyond the trophy. Howard entered the 2026 championship as the No. 1 overall seed and Southwest District champion, then kept finding different ways to win. The Hawks beat Daytona State 96-75, survived Butler 134-128 in double overtime, knocked off reigning champion Trinity Valley 72-66 in the semifinals, and finished the job with an 82-67 win over College of Southern Idaho in Hutchinson, Kansas.

That bracket run showed a team with answers. Howard could run with a high-scoring opponent one night, as the 134-128 grinder against Butler proved, then tighten the screws the next, holding Trinity Valley to 66 points before controlling the title game by 15. That versatility is why Cooper’s third season looked less like a lucky surge and more like a program built to last. Howard had gone 37-23 combined in his first two years; this one felt different from the start, with multiple top-five rankings carrying the Hawks through the season.

The player development piece was just as important. Howard sophomore Terry Copeland was named the William French Most Valuable Player after averaging 19.8 points and 7.9 rebounds during the season, then delivering 23 points and 16 rebounds in the title game. Kuai Deng and Brandon Ivery joined him on the All-Tournament Team, while Cooper also was selected as Coach of the Tournament. That kind of production, from a roster producing award winners and high-end performers at the biggest moment, is what turned Howard from a contender into a champion.

The title was celebrated back home in Big Spring, Texas, where the Howard County community came together to welcome the team after the championship. For a program that now owns two national crowns, the bigger story is how quickly Cooper built one.