Meet John Kean Master of the NABC Division II Top 25 Poll

MEET JOHN KEAN

Master of the NABC Division II Top 25 Poll

If you’re a coach, administrator, player, player’s family member or simply a fan of men’s basketball in NCAA Division II, you might follow the detailed weekly postings of the NABC/ Division II Top 25 poll online each Tuesday . Surprisingly, it doesn’t come from the NCAA or the NABC, but is compiled and delivered by John Kean, the sports information director at Missouri University of Science and Technology . Kean, one of the most respected sports information directors in collegiate athletics, does much of the work for the poll on his own time at home and does not get any remuneration for his efforts . He does it for his love of the game . A graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, Kean got his start in athletic communications as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, serving from 1986-89 . After stepping away from collegiate athletics for a year, he was hired by Missouri S&T as its sports information director . Once back in the profession, Kean has had a storied career, was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 2021 and has been a champion for men’s college basketball in NCAA Division II . “The idea for the poll in its current state came about during the 2003-04 season while working with our then head basketball coach, Dale Martin,” Kean said . “The poll was being done by one person with the D2 Bulletin making all of the decisions . Coach Martin then asked me to coordinate a new poll .” Kean started with a group of eight coaches as selectors, one from each of the regions in NCAA Division II . That was expanded to have two coaches from each region and each Sunday night, Kean passes along the information and scores from the week’s games for the selectors to make their picks . “The group of selectors do a good job and I know it’s time consuming while they are preparing for their own games . Pretty much full weeks with all reporting,” Kean said . “I start compiling the data every Monday night, most of the time while home at night, and send out every Tuesday between 12 noon and 2 pm . It’s important to be consistent . ” “On our Division II basketball page, coaches get a good feel for everything happening that week,” Kean said . “Some teams work their way in, and everyone can see who has beaten who and the strength of those wins . ” https://campus .mst .edu/athleticarchives/hoops/ d2basketball/d2hoops .html Kean does not identify the coaches who volunteer to serve on the selection panel, especially so it does not interfere with the responsibilities of coaching their own teams . The selectors are allowed to acknowledge their own participation in the process . “I keep the selectors on as long as they are willing to participate . When someone wants/needs to drop off, I reach out to other coaches in the region,” Kean said . Patrick Estepp, head coach at Cedarville University and a NABC Division II board member, is in his first season on the selection panel . “I just started working with John this year on the top 25 poll . He puts a lot of work into each week . I have been impressed with his attention to detail and the amount of information we have to work with . It really speaks to John’s desire to get the best top 25 poll for DII and his attention to detail . As a DII coach, I am thankful for how hard he works each week,” said Estepp . Roy Pickerill, longtime SID at Kentucky Wesleyan, collaborated with Kean to put together all the Division II polls since 1961, making sure that the information was meticulously detailed in a book and online . “John’s knowledge of everything in Division II basketball is unmatched, including teams that have moved up to the Division I level . He posts scores of games every night and coaches and conferences rely on that information . ” Missouri S&T had a really good team in 1996 and during that season, Kean could not find anything on Division II basketball. He followed up in 1996-97, developing the Division II page on the Miners’ website . Over time, he has developed a more structured page with a comprehensive list of information . “John has done an incredible job for Division II basketball for a long time . His efforts on the website and our national polls have not gone unnoticed,” said Minnesota State head coach Matt Margenthaler, a NABC board member representing Division II . On a national level, Kean has held leadership roles with CoSIDA, serving as the D2SIDA president, College Division AtLarge representative and as a member of the CoSIDA Board of Directors . “It was important work with D2SIDA as we needed a means to concentrate on our own matters within our division,” said Kean . “John is one of the best in the business and someone who cares so much about his school, its student-athletes and NCAA Division II athletics . He’s been very active as a leader in CoSIDA . John also provided support in helping shape policies and procedures in NCAA Division II,” said CoSIDA Executive Director Doug Vance . “He always steps forward when asked to help in some project and his long-time involvement with the NABC Division II men’s basketball poll is an example of his unselfish commitment to provide guidance in projects outside his normal role . ” Thankfully, Kean is not quite ready to retire and even when he is, he may continue with the poll and Division II page . “I still see myself doing this from home after retirement . Having the website and social media to get things out there now helps a great deal,” Kean said . “And there’s no deadline pressure . ”

National Association of Basketball Coaches National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Rankings January 4, 2022 (Regular Season Poll #6)

NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Rankings January 4, 2022 (Regular Season Poll #6)

Record Points Last

1. Lubbock Christian, Texas 12-0 395 1 2. Northwest Missouri State 12-1 386 2 3. Nova Southeastern, Fla. 12-0 370 4 4. Chico State, Calif. 10-0 348 5 5. Minnesota Duluth 14-0 324 9 6. Cal State San Bernardino 10-1 314 6 7. Mercyhurst, Pa. 10-1 289 7 8. West Liberty, W.Va. 10-1 283 8 9. Cal State San Marcos 10-0 270 11 10. Indiana, Pa. 9-1 256 10 11. West Texas A&M 14-2 252 3 12. Augusta, Ga. 10-1 224 12 13. Dominican, N.Y. 9-1 202 14 14. Queens, N.C. 11-2 173 16 15. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 10-2 162 17 16. Truman State, Mo. 9-2 132 19 17. Regis, Colo. 10-1 124 20 18. Barry, Fla. 9-2 115 15 19. Upper Iowa 12-2 95 13 20. Hillsdale, Mich. 9-2 91 21 21. Georgia College 10-1 86 25 22. Embry-Riddle, Fla. 11-3 53 18 23. Fairmont State, W.Va. 9-2 46 24 24. UNC Pembroke 9-1 41 NR 25. Flagler, Fla. 9-2 35 NR

Records through games of Jan. 2, 2022. Last ranking is from Dec. 28, 2021 poll.

First place votes – Lubbock Christian (13), Northwest Missouri State (2), Nova Southeastern (1).

Others receiving votes: Texas A&M-Commerce 23, Union (Tenn.) 19, Augustana (S.D.) 18, Ferris State (Mich.) 15, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 11, Central Oklahoma 10, West Florida 10, Angelo State (Texas) 8, MSU Denver (Colo.) 6, Bentley (Mass.) 5, Texas-Tyler 4, Black Hills State (S.D.) 2, Charleston (WV) 2, Emporia State (Kan.) 1.

Dropped out: West Florida (22), Ferris State (23).

Weekly Poll Notes:

Lubbock Christian closed the 2021 calendar year as the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II and remains that way as 2022 begins as it holds onto the top spot in the new NABC/Division II men’s basketball poll.

LCU, whose two scheduled games over the weekend were postponed due to health and safety protocol matters, is one of five remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division II. The second-ranked team, Northwest Missouri State, is not among them, but the three that follow the Bearcats have yet to suffer a defeat this season.

Nova Southeastern knocked off a pair of ranked teams in the Sunshine State Conference to remain perfect at 12-0 and moved up to third following West Texas A&M’s loss at Arkansas-Fort Smith. Chico State remained unbeaten after a win Saturday over Stanislaus State and Minnesota Duluth rose to fifth as it improved to 14-0 after winning in double overtime on the road over then-No. 23 Ferris State.

The fifth undefeated team – Cal State San Marcos -- is among the next five in the poll. Cal State San Bernardino, one of three California Collegiate Athletic Association teams in the top 10 this week, remained at No. 6, followed by Mercyhurst, West Liberty, CSU San Marcos and Indiana (Pa.).

Two conferences – the CCAA and Sunshine State and Peach Belt Conferences – each have three teams representing their leagues in the latest poll. The only new entries in the poll this week are UNC Pembroke and Flagler, who come in at the tail end of this week’s top 25.

Games to watch this week:

#21 Georgia College at #12 Augusta (Wednesday) Texas A&M-Commerce at #11 West Texas A&M (Thurs.) #2 Northwest Missouri State at Emporia State (Saturday) Texas-Tyler at #11 West Texas A&M (Saturday) #18 Barry at #22 Embry-Riddle (Saturday)