Iowa native, Creighton head coach Greg McDermott announces retirement
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Iowa native and longtime basketball coach Greg McDermott will retire in 2026 after more than three decades coaching at the collegiate level, including a career‑defining run at Creighton
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McDermott, who had served as the Bluejays' head coach since 2010, announced his retirement on Monday, March 23, in a lengthy news release. The Cascade, Iowa, native went 365-188 while leading Creighton, becoming the school's all-time wins leader in 2024.
Creighton finished the season 15-17 and will play in the College Basketball Crown tournament against Rutgers on April 2 after not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
Following McDermott's exit, Creighton announced that current associate head coach Alan Huss will take over the program. Huss had been named head-coach-in-waiting a year ago when he returned to Creighton.
"It has been an incredible honor to lead the Creighton men's basketball program for the past 16 years," McDermott said in a news release. "I'm very proud of the young men that have proudly worn the Bluejay uniform and represented our program in a first-class manner. Witnessing their growth and development on and off the playing floor was especially gratifying...The support of the Omaha community consistently packing our arena with 17,000 fans has created many fond memories. While this chapter of my career comes to a close, my love and respect for the Bluejays will never fade."
Greg McDermott played, coached in Iowa
McDermott graduated from Cascade High School in 1984 and left as one of the school's premier athletes. Despite playing just two varsity seasons, McDermott set multiple school records in points and rebounds per game and was named All-State as a senior.
He was also a standout baseball player, batting over .300, posting a .978 fielding average at first base, and helping lead Cascade to its first state baseball tournament appearance in 1982.
McDermott was a 1,000-point scorer at Northern Iowa from 1984 to 1988, becoming a second-team All-Mid-Continent Conference player following his junior season.
He played briefly overseas before entering coaching in 1989 and was hired for his first head coaching position at Wayne State College in Nebraska in 1994. He coached there for six seasons, took a brief stop as North Dakota State's head coach in 2000, and was hired by his alma mater, UNI, as its head coach in 2001.
UNI won the 2004 Missouri Valley Tournament to earn the program's second NCAA appearance in school history. He then led the Panthers to at-large selections in the 2005 and 2006 NCAA tournaments.
When was Greg McDermott Iowa State's head coach?
After five seasons with UNI, McDermott moved to central Iowa in 2006 to become the head coach at Iowa State.
There he spent four mostly forgotten seasons for Cyclones fans, amassing a 59-68 record and failing to break through to March Madness success in Ames.
He left Ames in 2010.
Greg McDermott shaped T.J. Otzelberger's career at Iowa State
One of the more lasting decisions from McDermott's tenure at Iowa State came when he hired T.J. Otzelberger as an assistant. Otzelberger, Iowa State's current head coach, is one of several current coaches who trace their roots to the McDermott coaching tree.
"Coach (McDermott) certainly gave me an opportunity here," Otzelberger told the Register in December 2021. "You never know when those are going to come. I'm very grateful. I have a lot of loyalty and allegiance to him because he took a chance on me here. I was 27 years old and didn't really have a resume to back up the opportunity I was being given."
McDermott won 23 games in his debut season coaching for Creighton after leaving Iowa State in 2010, reaching the NCAA Tournament in his second season in 2011. The Bluejays made 10 NCAA appearances under his guidance, including trips to three Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight.
Greg McDermott's family includes current NBA player Doug McDermott
His overall coaching record is 645-383 (prior to the College Basketball Crown tournament). McDermott is a member of the Cascade High School, Iowa High School Athletic Association, UNI and Wayne State University Halls of Fame.
He married fellow UNI graduate Theresa McDermott in 1987. They have three children, Nick, Doug and Sydney. Doug McDermott committed to play for his father at Creighton in 2010 after winning back-to-back state titles for Ames during his junior and senior seasons. He won the Naismith Player of the Year award in 2014 before being selected 11th overall in that year's NBA Draft. He is currently a forward for the Sacramento Kings.
USA TODAY college sports insider John Brice contributed to this report.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Greg McDermott, Creighton head coach and Iowa native, to retire