Bio

Augustana College ’02

The 2022-23 season was just the second time in his nine seasons with the Tigers, the men’s basketball program finished below .500. Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball posted the same exact overall and conference record as just a season ago, securing a 13-16 overall record and a 9-11 GPAC record. Under Matt Wilber, the men’s basketball program posted three GPAC All-Conference players in Koln Oppold, First-Team; Kallan Herman, Honorable Mention; and Jakob Dobney, Honorable Mention. Wilber and company also posted seven players to the 2023 Daktronics/NAIA Scholar-Athletes list this season in, Samuel Aslesen, Brady Fritz, Logan Graham, Blaze Lubbers, Chase Merill, Tisyn Spader, and Oppold. Head coach Wilber also joined elite company this season after the December 2, 2022 overtime win against Doane at home when he surpassed 200 career wins, being just the third coach in DWU men’s basketball history to achieve 200+ wins (Doug Martin, 1988-05; Gordon Fosness, 1961-83).

The 2021-22 season was the first time under head coach Matt Wilber when the Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball team finished below .500. Wilber led the Tigers to records of 13-16 overall, 9-11 in GPAC play, 7-5 at home and 6-7 on the road last year. He lost five seniors in 2021-22 with Koln Oppold, Jeffrey Schuch, Mason Larson, Ace Zorr and Gary White III. Wilber posted three student-athletes to the Great Plains Athletic Conference All-Conference list, including a first-team nod to Oppold, an honorable mention and GPAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year recognition to Larson, and an honorable mention designation to Schuch.

DWU men’s basketball finished the 2020-21 hoops season with a 19-8 overall record and finished tied for third in the GPAC with a 14-6 conference record. Senior point guard Nick Harden and junior forward Oppold both earned All-GPAC First-Team recognition, while junior forwards Larson and Schuch secured All-GPAC Honorable Mention status.

The 2019-20 season was one to remember for Wilber and company, as he guided the Tigers to the GPAC Postseason Tournament Championship Game. The Tigers hosted the title game in the Corn Palace for the first time in 10 years. He also coached his third GPAC Player-of-the-Year when Ty Hoglund was honored with this prestigious award. Forward Samuel McCloud joined Hoglund on the All-Conference Team and was named honorable mention. Hoglund was also tabbed to the All-American First Team and was named a National Association of Basketball Coaches All- American.

Wilber saw a pair of athletes named to the NAIA All-American Team in 2018-19, as Hoglund was tabbed to the first team, and Harden was honored with an honorable mention nod. Hoglund and Harden each made the All-GPAC First Team, while Aaron Ahmadu was selected as an All-GPAC Honorable Mention recipient.

In 2017-18, Wilber guided the Tigers to an overall record of 23-11 and an 11-7 record in GPAC action. He coached two All-American players, as senior Jason Spicer and Hoglund were named All-American First Team and All-American Third Team, respectively. Spicer and Hoglund were each tabbed to the All-GPAC First Team, while senior Trae VandeBerg was named to the second team, and Nygel Drury earned honorable mention.

The 2016-17 Tigers finished in a tie for second in conference play with a 13-5 GPAC record and an overall record of 23-10. DWU made the NAIA National Tournament, but it lost its first-round matchup against the College of Idaho 98-93. In 2015-16, the Tigers finished 23-11 overall and 13-7 in conference play to finish third. DWU received an at-large bid for the national tournament, where the Tigers won a narrow first-round matchup against Indiana Tech before falling in the second round.

Now entering his 10th season with the Tigers, Wilber sits in third place on the school’s all-time wins list with a record of 197-94. The Tigers are 113-63 in GPAC competition under Wilber, including a regular-season league championship in 2014-15. Wilber guided the Tigers to their best season in school history in 2014-15, finishing the season 32-5 and marching all the way to the NAIA National Tournament Championship Game. Dakota Wesleyan led the NAIA in assist-to-turnover ratio for two seasons, while finishing in the top five in the nation in 3-pointers made.

In nine seasons, Wilber has coached 33 All-GPAC Team members, 13 All-American selections, 27 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans with one A.O. Duer Scholarship Award winner in 2021.

Before taking over the DWU men’s basketball program in June 2013, Wilber – a Miller, S.D., native – was the co-owner and director of Tibbetts Instructional Basketball School (TIBBS) with Nate Tibbetts, who was hired as an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers. Wilber ran the basketball school, which worked with between 800 and 1,000 basketball players from around the area each year. He helped it grow from a program that started in a residential home gym and was purchased by Sanford Health to be the focal basketball development program in the Sanford Pentagon, a $20 million, 11-court basketball facility.

Through his work with TIBBS, Wilber, a Dell Rapids High School graduate, developed connections with high school basketball players from around South Dakota and the Midwest. He also directed summer camps and satellite camps with TIBBS.

Before his work at TIBBS, Wilber was an assistant coach at South Dakota State University for two seasons and at the University of Sioux Falls for one year. At SDSU, Wilber was an assistant for head coach Scott Nagy during the Jackrabbits’ transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I from 2004 to 2006. He assisted with recruiting both on and off campus, practice planning, scouting, game management, film exchange and offseason workouts. He also assisted with budget management and game scheduling, and he served as the team’s academic and travel coordinator.

Wilber worked under former DWU head coach Shane Murphy for one season at USF in 2003-04. He helped Murphy with recruiting and NAIA compliance guidelines. He also had a hand in practice planning, scouting, game management, budget coordination and film exchange while serving as the junior varsity coach.

Wilber got his start in coaching at Augustana University, his alma mater. He was a student assistant from 2002 to 2003 for coach Perry Ford and helped with recruiting, scouting, film exchange and practice planning. He played for the Vikings from 1997 to 2002 and was a two-year starter. Wilber joined the team as a walk-on, but he earned a scholarship his junior and senior seasons and finished in the top 10 in career 3-pointers made. He earned Academic All-Conference Honorable Mention honors in 2001. Wilber was also a four-year starter for the Augustana baseball team, playing infield, outfield and pitcher throughout his career.

Wilber and his wife, Lindsay – who is the DWU head volleyball coach – have five children: twins Benjamin and A.J., Nathan, Tyson and Lizzie. They live in Mitchell, S.D.