KY – BOWLING GREEN Todd Stewart, the director of athletics, announced on Tuesday that Hank Plona will take over as Keno Davis. 17th head men’s basketball coach.
Plona has led Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College to eight consecutive ICCAC regular-season titles, six postseason conference titles, and seven trips to the NJCAA National Tournament in his eight seasons as head coach. He has also won 86.5% of his games in that time.
“Hank Plona emerges victorious,” stated Stewart. He was crucial to many aspects of our program during the previous championship season, and I have no doubt that with his guidance, we will maintain the great momentum that has already been created. His remarkable record of success during his eight years as Indian Hills’ head coach speaks for itself, and he has a track record of successful player development and recruiting. His professional background before joining WKU and the significant part he played in the previous season have equipped him well for this chance. With him in charge, I am thrilled about our basketball program’s future.
WKU President Timothy C. Caboni stated, “The WKU basketball team is momentum-strong, coming off its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013, and I am confident that Hank Plona is the right person to continue this trajectory.” “His enthusiasm, knowledge, and vision are a wonderful fit with WKU’s goals. He brings to the table program knowledge that will help players and staff keep pushing for greatness. We have a rich history with this program, so I’m thrilled that Hank has agreed to take over as WKU’s next head coach.
Plona expressed his immense honor at being selected as Western Kentucky’s next head coach. “I appreciate President Tim Caboni and Athletic Director Todd Stewart putting their faith in me for this chance. Not to thank Steve Lutz for giving me the chance to visit WKU a year ago and to wish him and his family the best of luck at Oklahoma State, would be a transgression.
Since the day we returned from Indianapolis and the NCAA Tournament, my staff and I haven’t stopped working, and we can’t wait to carry on the success of the 2023–24 season into the future. We’ll keep putting in endless effort on the recruiting trail to find new Hilltoppers as well as to retain the ones we already have.
“You will always be able to cheer for our team with pride. In addition to excelling academically and graduating our student-athletes, we will play an exciting, fast-paced brand of basketball and be involved on campus and in the community. With class, our players will represent WKU and this community in all that we do. Go, Superstars!
A formal press conference introducing Plona is scheduled to take place inside E.A. Diddle Arena on Wednesday, April 3, at 11 a.m. CT. The public is welcome to attend, and Parking Structure 2 (PS2), which is located between Diddle Arena and Houchens-Smith Stadium, will offer free parking.
“You will always be able to cheer for our team with pride. In addition to excelling academically and graduating our student-athletes, we will play an exciting, fast-paced brand of basketball and be involved on campus and in the community. With class, our players will represent WKU and this community in all that we do. Go, Superstars!
A formal press conference introducing Plona is scheduled to take place inside E.A. Diddle Arena on Wednesday, April 3, at 11 a.m. CT. The public is welcome to attend, and Parking Structure 2 (PS2), which is located between Diddle Arena and Houchens-Smith Stadium, will offer free parking.
One of Plona’s All-American stars from Indian Hills, Don McHenry, was named All-CUSA, first team All-District, and CUSA Tournament MVP. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin native started all 34 games for the Hilltoppers in 2023-24, averaging a team-best 15.1 points per game. He also led the Hilltoppers with 81 assists, shooting 46.1% from the field, 36.2% from three and 85.9% from the free throw line. Plona also coached Enoch Kalambay at Indian Hills. Kalambay played in all 34 games for WKU this past season, starting eight, while averaging 6.2 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game in 18.3 minutes per game.
Depth was a hallmark of WKU’s success during the 2023-24 season, as the Hilltoppers were 17th nationally in bench scoring at 28.8 points per game. Eight players averaged at least 18 minutes per game and six Hilltoppers averaged over 8 ppg.
In his eight seasons as head coach at Indian Hills, Plona coached the Warriors to a 225-35 (.865) record. IHCC qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament in seven of those eight seasons. Plona led the team to eight consecutive ICCAC regular-season titles, six postseason conference titles and four district championships.
In his last season, Plona led Indian Hills to a semifinal run at the 2023 NJCAA National Tournament, the team’s best finish since 2014. They were ranked No. 1 in six different polls during Plona’s tenure and ranked in the national rankings all but one week, including 39 Top-10 rankings and 18 Top-five rankings over his last four seasons alone.
Plona coached 12 All-Americans in his time at IHCC, along with 42 All-Region performers. A total of 59 of his players moved on from IHCC to Division I schools, and nearly 20 of those former Warriors are currently playing professionally around the globe. One hundred twenty-three student-athletes garnered Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) All-Academic honors for their work in the classroom. As a team, the Warriors were named an NJCAA Academic Team of the Year during the 2021-22 campaign.
Plona was named the ICCAC Coach of the Year on four separate occasions while earning five NJCAA District Coach of the Year honors. Under Plona’s tutelage, six consecutive Indian Hills Men’s Basketball players were named ICCAC DI Men’s Basketball Players of the Year. Along with the success of moving players on to the next level, Plona has seen an abundance of former assistant coaches earn spots at high-level programs throughout the country.
Notably, Tomas Woldetensae landed with 2019 National Champion Virginia, while the following season, Tyon Grant-Foster was sought out by Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks. Recent seasons also saw three former IHCC players join Power Five schools in Maurice Calloo (Oregon State), Chris Payton (Pittsburgh) and J’Vonne Hadley (Colorado).
Prior to his first head coaching job, Plona was an assistant coach at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas for four seasons. The team made three national tournament appearances in Plona’s four seasons there, winning the national title in 2012 with an undefeated record. His team also made it to the championship game in 2015, just prior to Plona being named head coach at Indian Hills.
Plona spent one season as an assistant coach at IHCC (2010-11) and one as an assistant coach at Arkansas Fort-Smith (2009-10).
The Avon, Connecticut, native was a student manager and graduate assistant at Providence College under Tim Welsh and Keno Davis.
