Apr. 25—MITCHELL — Dakota Wesleyan University announced the hire of Sam Nicholson as men’s basketball coach on Friday.

Nicholson, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at DWU, first under Matt Wilber and then Kevin Williamson, will return to the Tigers’ bench again for the 2025-26 season as the 22nd head coach in the program’s history. On April 18, Nicholson had been announced as joining the coaching staff at NCAA Division II Upper Iowa University under new head coach Casey Kasperbauer.

“I am so excited for Sam and the DWU men’s basketball program,” said DWU Athletic Director Ross Cimpl in a statement. “Sam has earned this opportunity with his work ethic and his ability to build meaningful relationships with players and recruits. The future of DWU men’s basketball is very bright. I look forward to watching Coach Nicholson and our program grow. We have very high expectations and goals, and I’m confident we have the right leader in place to achieve them.”

During Nicholson’s two seasons on staff, the Tigers made an NAIA national tournament appearance and produced seven all-Great Plains Athletic Conference selections, as well as one GPAC freshman of the year.

A native of Blair, Nebraska, Nicholson previously served as an assistant coach at Dakota State University, contributing to recruiting, scouting, and player development prior to arriving at DWU in 2023. He also spent time at D-II Concordia University, St. Paul, as a graduate assistant, and began his coaching journey as a student assistant at the University of South Dakota, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education in 2020.

Williamson resigned the DWU men’s basketball head coaching position on Tuesday, the school had previously announced. After one season with the Tigers, he is set to take over the head coaching position at Dakota State. Meanwhile, Wilber spent one season away from the college coaching ranks as an assistant for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, and is now the head coach at Division II Northern State.

DWU will host an introductory press conference for Nicholson at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, in the Sherman Center.