John Peckinpaugh begins his third season as the head coach of the Indiana Tech Warriors basketball program.
During his first two years at the helm, the former IPFW star has a record of 34-29 record, including a 23-10 season during the 2015-16 season en route to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Coach of the Year honors, and a berth in the NAIA Men's Basketball Division II National Championship.
During his brief career with the Warriors he has coached six WHAC All-Academic Team selections, four NAIA-Scholar-Athletes, three WHAC All-Newcomer Team players, two WHAC Players of the Week, two WHAC First-Team All-Conference members, one WHAC Honorable Mention All-Conference selection, one WHAC All-Defensive Team honoree, one NABC-NAIA Shoot & Slam Slam Dunk participant( (Dominique Walls), one WHAC Newcomer of the Year (Miles Robinson), one NAIA Honorable Mention All-American (Dominique Walls) and one NAIA Second-Team All-American (Miles Robinson).
Last year (2015-16) he led the Warriors to a 23-10 record, a 12-game improvement from the previous season, to finish third in the WHAC and rising as high as 16th in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll while reaching the semifinals of the WHAC Tournament and receiving an at-large berth to the NAIA Men's Basketball Division II National Championship as the fourth-seed in the Duer Bracket. Tech faced off with defending national runner-ups Dakota Wesleyan, making a comeback to force overtime before falling to the fifth-seed in the bracket, 93-89.
The Orange and Black faced one of the strongest schedules in the NAIA that season, taking on 12 teams ranked in the Top 25 or receiving votes, including seven in the top-10 and three in the top-five. He coached NAIA All-Americans (Dominique Walls and Miles Robinson) while revamping his roster with just eight players returning and nine new faces to the team.
In his first season at the helm, 2014-15, Peckinpaugh finished with a 11-19 record and finishing ninth in the WHAC and just missing out on the WHAC Tournament. Tech faced a difficult schedule with 11 teams ranked or receiving votes in the Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
Peckinpaugh returned to Indiana Tech for the 2014-15 season after spending a season as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW). While with the Mastodons, he was a member of a coaching staff that helped the team achieve the most successful season in program history, finishing with a record of 25-11, rising as high as No. 19 in the NCAA Division I mid-major poll, making it all the way to the Summit League Tournament Championship game and clinching a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, defeating Akron, 97-91, at home before falling to Virgina Military Institute, 106-95, in Lexington, Va.
Prior to coaching at IPFW, he served as an assistant for the Orange and Black during the 2012-2013 season. Peckinpaugh served as recruiting coordinator and worked on budgeting, travel, and academic affairs for the team during time at Tech and was instrumental in recruiting all of the returning Tech players for the 2014-2015 season.
As a player, Peckinpaugh was a starting forward for the IPFW Mastodons from 2009-2012. The blue-collar reputation and strong work ethic he developed there under head coaches Dane Fife and Tony Jasick are qualities he instills in his teams.
"I expect our teams to out-work and out-hustle every team we play. We'll be a team that is not only exciting to watch, but one that Indiana Tech and the Fort Wayne community can be proud of on and off the court."
Peckinpaugh, an Indiana native, attended the storied Muncie Central High School in Muncie, where he helped the team earn two state runner-up titles and three NCC conference titles.
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