COACHING BACKGROUND
Bill Harmsen began leading the Dordt Defender women’s basketball program in 2018-19 after serving several years at Western Christian High School in Iowa. The 2026-27 season will be his ninth at Dordt.
Harmsen’s first Dordt team made history in 2018-19, posting a 20-12 overall record and a 13-9 mark in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), good for fourth place. The Defenders earned the program’s first at-large berth to the NAIA Division II National Basketball Championship and finished the season ranked among the nation’s top 20 teams for much of the year. Dordt opened the season 15-4 and averaged a program-best 80.3 points per game. The Defenders also led the nation in defensive rebounds per game (31.96) and ranked ninth in scoring average.
The 2019-20 team followed with a 24-8 overall record and a 15-7 GPAC mark. Dordt spent the entire season ranked in the top 12 nationally and advanced to the GPAC postseason tournament semifinals for the first time in program history. The Defenders qualified for the NAIA Division II National Championship, but the event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dordt averaged 80.3 points per game and outrebounded its opponents 42.8-33.1, a margin that ranked seventh in the NAIA. The team also ranked sixth nationally in field-goal
percentage at 46.1 percent.
In 2020-21, the Defenders posted a 15-11 overall record and a 14-8 GPAC mark, giving Harmsen three consecutive winning seasons to begin his Dordt tenure. After dealing with injuries early in the season, the team won nine of 10 games from December 5 through January 9.
Dordt’s 2021-22 season featured a 15-game winning streak from December 18 through February 12. The Defenders finished second in the GPAC with a 16-6 conference record and advanced to the NAIA National Championship game, earning runner-up honors. The team featured two first-team All-GPAC selections, and Ashtyn Veerbeek became the first Dordt women’s basketball player to earn GPAC Player of the Year honors.
The 2022-23 team won Dordt’s first GPAC women’s basketball regular-season championship, finishing 20-2 in conference play and 30-4 overall after opening the season with 16 consecutive wins. The Defenders hosted an NAIA National Championship Opening Round site and won twice before falling in the Round of 16. Karly Gustafson and Bailey Beckman earned first-team All-GPAC honors, and Harmsen was named GPAC Co-Coach of the Year for the second time.
The 2023-24 team won its first 12 games before falling to South Dakota State on December 12. Dordt responded with 14 consecutive wins to secure the GPAC regular-season championship, then won three games to claim the conference postseason tournament title. Hosting the NAIA National Championship First and Second Rounds for the second straight season, the Defenders won four games in Sioux City to capture the program’s first national championship. Harmsen earned GPAC Coach of the Year honors for the third time and was named NAIA National Coach of the Year for the first time. Dordt had four CSC Academic All-District selections and two first-team All-GPAC performers. Macy Sievers earned first-team NAIA All-American honors, while Gustafson was named to the third team.
In 2024-25, Dordt remained No. 1 in the NAIA poll from the preseason through the end of the season and successfully defended its national championship, finishing 35-2. The Defenders won their first 23 games and hosted all three rounds of the GPAC postseason tournament, winning by an average of 14 points per game. For the third consecutive year, Dordt hosted the first two rounds of the NAIA National Championship and advanced to the final site with two wins at De Witt Gym. After a hard-fought four-point victory in the Round of 16, Dordt won its next three games by a combined 62 points to claim the national title. Sievers was named NAIA Player of the Year and earned first-team NAIA All-American and CSC Academic All-American honors. Janie Van Donge received second-team recognition from both the NAIA and CSC Academic All-American programs.
The 2025-26 team spent the entire season ranked No. 1 nationally and finished as the NAIA National Championship runner-up. The appearance marked Dordt’s third consecutive trip to the championship game and fourth title-game appearance in five years. The Defenders finished 34-3, won their fourth consecutive GPAC championship and hosted the first two rounds of the NAIA National Championship for the fourth straight season. Harmsen was again named GPAC Coach of the Year, while Sievers earned GPAC and NAIA Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. Sievers and Gracie Schoonhoven received first-team NAIA All-American recognition and were named CSC Academic All-Americans. Sievers also earned Academic All-American of the Year honors.
Harmsen has coached 13 first-team All-GPAC selections, five first-team NAIA All-Americans, four second-team NAIA All-Americans, two third-team NAIA All-Americans and eight CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. His 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 teams recorded grade-point averages of 3.82, 3.82 and 3.83, respectively, the highest marks among teams in their divisions. Harmsen owns a career record of 222-51 and a collegiate winning percentage of .813. He also works with Dordt University Athletic Advancement and Development.
Before joining Dordt, Harmsen served at Western Christian High School from 2001-18. He coached the girls basketball team from 2012-16, winning Iowa state championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and led the boys team to a state title in 2017. His responsibilities at Western also included teaching Bible classes, serving as an assistant boys basketball coach and assistant to the principal, and working as activities director.
Harmsen’s previous experience includes teaching, coaching and serving as athletic director at Dakota Christian High School, working as an assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Sioux Falls, and serving as head girls basketball coach at Sioux Falls Christian.
COACHING PHILOSOPHY
Coaching at Dordt University is a pleasure and a blessing. I get to walk alongside student-athletes through their highest highs and lowest lows. This is where spiritual and emotional mentoring takes place. My goal is that every woman in the Dordt University women's program will be maximized and equipped with the spiritual, academic, social, and emotional skills to prosper in the workplace while establishing homes built on Jesus Christ.
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
B.A. in Health, Physical Education from the University of Sioux Falls
M.A. in Educational Leadership from the University of Sioux Falls
FAMILY
Wife-Shawna
Children-Payton and Caleb
June 24, 2025
