COACHING BACKGROUND
Van Haaften was named the head coach of the Dordt University men’s basketball program in March 2018.
The 2023-24 team posted a 19-11 overall record and finished 12-8 in the league and the team won 12 games or more for the fifth straight season. The team qualified for its third straight NAIA National Championship field. The team featured two first-team all-conference selections and three CSC Academic All-District selections. The team compiled a 3.63 cumulative grade point average which was second best out of all teams in the NAIA.
The 2022-23 team was 26-7 and was 14-6 in the GPAC. The team qualified for the NAIA National Championship field for the second straight season and won its opening round game before falling in the second round. The team also won the program's second-ever GPAC Postseason Tournament, winning on the road in the semifinals and the finals of the annual event. Jacob Vis was named NAIA All-America second-team at the conclusion of the year and Bryce Coppock was an honorable mention selection. Vis also earned CSC Academic All-American first-team honors.
The 2021-22 Dordt squad posted a 20-11 record and a 12-8 GPAC mark and qualified for the NAIA National Championship field for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The team averaged 80.2 points per game and had the 16th-best field goal percentage in the NAIA and was 12th-best in the country with just 9.9 turnovers per game committed. Bryce Coppock earned All-GPAC first-team honors and was a NAIA All-America honorable mention selection at the conclusion of the season and Jacob Vis was a CoSIDA Academic All-America selection. The team had a 3.49 cumulative grade point average.
Van Haaften’s record in six seasons at Dordt is 124-59 and his .678 winning percentage is the best on record at Dordt.
The 2020-21 Defenders posted an 18-8 overall record and a 13-7 GPAC mark. The team was 16th in the country in field goal percentage and 13th in the NAIA in assist/turnover ratio. The Defenders averaged 81.3 points per game and featured All-GPAC first-team picks Garrett Franken and Jesse Jansma.
The 2019-20 Defenders posted a 22-9 record and finished 13-7 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. The team averaged 86.1 points per game and allowed 76.1 points per contest. The Defenders were 11th in the NAIA in field goal percentage and 16th in the nation in scoring and also in assist/turnover ratio.
The 2018-19 Dordt team posted a 19-13 overall record and qualified for the GPAC Post-Season Tournament before falling in the semifinals to the eventual champion. Ten of the Defenders' losses were by ten points or less and he coached two NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
He served as head men’s basketball coach at Buena Vista University (Iowa) from 1996-2017 and had a career record of 414-188 with a career winning percentage of .687. Van Haaften compiled six 20-win seasons in a row from 2000-05 and his teams won five straight Iowa Conference Tournaments from 2001-06. His Buena Vista teams claimed nine regular season conference titles and were runners-up six times. He coached teams to nine NCAA Division III National Tournament appearances and Buena Vista qualified for the Sweet 16 round in three of those tournaments. Prior to coaching at Buena Vista, Van Haaften taught and coached basketball and baseball at Storm Lake St. Mary’s High School (Iowa).
ACADEMICS
B.A. Education-Northwestern College (Iowa)
M.A. Educational Administration-Drake University (Iowa)
COACHING PHILOSOPHY
The Defender Way is about being a part of something bigger than yourself. It’s about being a servant to others, it’s about putting team before yourself, and it’s about being a class act on and off the court. When you have the attitude of the Defender Way, you will develop leadership, work ethic, and proper competitive focus. When all these things come together, special things happen. Our players will be successful on and off the court, and they will serve others and the Lord. This basketball experience will be the time of our players’ lives, and one they will never forget.
