Marshalltown Community College Tiger athletics is excited to announce that Dylan Longley will be taking over on the roll as Head Women's Basketball Coach effective immediately.
Longley started his coaching career in 2015 as Assistant Coach at UW – River Falls where he remained until 2018. During his time, the team was WIAC Conference Champions in 2015-16 and received Conference Staff of the Year honors. He was also the Director of Basketball Operations.
During 2018-2019, Longley was the Women's Basketball Graduated Assistant at Central Methodist University. He then went to North Dakota State College of Science (2019-2020) as Assistant Women's Basketball Coach working under Tom Dryburgh. During the season, the team was an NJCAA National Tournament Qualifier and MonDak Tournament Champions.
He continued his coaching career (2020-21) at Lake Region State College as the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach where he was selected to coach the NJCAA All-Star team in Atlanta, GA. Longley achieved something very few coaches can in 2021-23 when he built the first women's basketball program as Head Women's Basketball Coach for Palo Verde College. During the second season of existence, he led the Pirates to a .500 conference record and improved the conference finish from 8th to 4th from year one to year two.
"The experience I gained at PVC makes the transition to MCC much easier as I've already shown I can build a program and maybe surpass people's expectations," commented Longley.
Throughout his coaching career, Longley's goal has always been and continues to be, to help student athletes grow and move on to play at the next level if that is their goal. He has helped guide 12 players to full ride offers at DI, DII and NAIA schools.
Longley applied for the MCC position because he sees the opportunity for growth in the program. "The location was something that attracted me right away in terms of a recruiting region. The Midwest is an area that I've recruited my entire career and the ability to have major cities within 4-5 hours allows me to cast a wide net with recruiting."
He is looking forward to working with an AD and an overall staff that supports Women's Basketball and is excited for the growth in the coming years. "It was a pleasant surprise to see the top-notch facilities but also to see how genuine and caring people have been since the moment I stepped on campus," commented Longley. "This is something that will attract recruits but is also something that catches the eyes of parents and helps them feel comfortable sending their daughter to a place that will support them both academically and athletically."
When asked what goals he has for the Tiger basketball team, Longley said. "My long-term goal for MCC women's basketball is to grow and develop into a team that competes in the top 4 of the conference year in and year out. This isn't something that will happen in one year but with what we have to offer here it is definitely a goal that's attainable."
"I don't want to set the bar too high for us in year one because that's unfair to my players, but I truly believe that we are bringing in a great group of young ladies that can achieve anything they want. As far as goals for year one, it's important for me to allow my players to have a voice in some of that so I think there will be more answers on that topic down the road."
When out recruiting there are three things that Longley tells players he is looking for. 1) A positive attitude 2) Hard working 3) A good teammate. "Those three things might sound simple, but the reality is that if someone doesn't have one of those three things then life will become difficult for them at some point. If a player has all three, the pressure is on me to help them grow into the best basketball player and overall person they can be." The MCC 2023-24 women's basketball roster already has 11 players for the upcoming season.
Longley will also be working alongside Athletic Director, Ryan Flack, as the Athletics Coordinator. "I think I bring a lot of experience to the table, and I will do everything I can to be a valuable asset to our athletics department and MCC as a whole."
"We are excited to have Dylan join us as the next head women's basketball coach at Marshalltown," said Ryan Flack, MCC Athletic Director. "After an extensive search, we felt Dylan was the right candidate to lead our women's basketball program and move them forward at the NJCAA DII level. I look forward to working with Dylan as he prepares for the 2023 season."
