After building a national championship-contending Division II program at Daemen University, Mike MacDonald joined St. Bonaventure men’s basketball as the program’s 20th head coach on March 31, 2026. As a 1988 alumnus of St. Bonaventure, MacDonald returned to the Enchanted Mountains to lead his alma mater in a new era of college basketball.
Despite having a relatively low number of scholarships at his disposal, the Buffalo native racked up 265 wins over 12 seasons at Daemen, maintaining a .755 winning percentage during his tenure. He led the Wildcats to three East Coast Conference (ECC) regular season championships, two ECC tournament championships, six NCAA tournament berths and two NCAA Division II East Regional championships in 2026 and 2021.
MacDonald’s forward-thinking philosophy is built upon player and personal development, sports science, data analytics and building a culture of student-athlete retention in the program through strong bonds and lasting relationships. After achieving the No. 1 overall ranking for three consecutive weeks in the 2024-25 season, MacDonald retained 13 of 14 eligible players, including each of the Wildcats’ four leading scorers to sustain Daemen’s unprecedented success.
MacDonald’s approach lifted Daemen to one of the winningest programs in all of NCAA men’s basketball during the NIL and transfer portal era.
In his last two seasons, MacDonald posted a remarkable 61-3 record, going undefeated (32-0) in conference play during that span. He led the Wildcats to a Division II Elite Eight appearance in 2025-26 and back-to-back ECC Tournament Championships with five First Team All-ECC honorees, including two ECC Player of the Year winners in Zach Philipkoski and Benjamin Bill. MacDonald was named National Division II Coach of the year in 2024-25, and ECC Coach of the Year in both seasons.
His 61 wins over the past two seasons are fourth-most in the NCAA at any level, and Daemen’s win percentage of .968 during that span is second only behind Division II Nova Southeastern.
Over the last three years, Daemen’s win percentage of .887 ranks third in all of NCAA men’s basketball. The Wildcats were 18-3 against NCAA tournament teams during MacDonald’s last two seasons, and 21-6 during his last three at Daemen.
Analytically, MacDonald’s recent Daemen teams have separated the Wildcats as one of the most dominant programs in Division II, ranking near the top nationally in both offensive and defensive categories. In each of the last two seasons, the Wildcats have ranked in the top 21 in points per possession. On the defensive end, Daemen has held opponents to 0.92 points per possession in each of the last two seasons, which led the nation in 2024-25 and ranked fifth in 2025-26.
After stints at Canisius and Division-III Medaille, MacDonald is the only coach in college basketball history to log 100 or more wins at every NCAA level. MacDonald was named the BCANY co-coach of the year at Division I Canisius (2000-01), four-time Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Coach of the Year during his time at Division III Medaille College and National Division II Coach of the Year during the 2024-25 season at Daemen.
Daemen went 33-2 in 2025-26, winning the school’s second regional championship over Saint Anselm to reach the Elite Eight. Thirty-one of Daemen’s 33 wins were by double digits, with 14 wins by 20-plus points and five by 30-plus points. The Wildcats’ only two losses were to Gannon and Lander, each of the two National Championship finalists from Division II.
The Wildcats posted their second straight undefeated season in the ECC and went 20-0 at home for the first time in school history. MacDonald took home ECC Coach of the Year for the second straight season, while Philipkoski was named Player of the Year and Justin Hemphill was named Defensive Player of the Year. Philipkoski, Hemphill and Bill all received first-team All-ECC honors.
In 2024-25, MacDonald led Daemen to a 28-0 start before falling in the regional semifinals to St. Thomas Aquinas. The Wildcats won the ECC regular season championship and claimed the program’s first conference tournament championship. The Wildcats were ranked first in the AP poll for three consecutive weeks during the regular season, becoming the first Division I or II school in the state of New York to do so since Syracuse in 2014.
At the end of the season, MacDonald was honored with the Clarence “Big House” Gaines Award, given to the best Division II head coach in the nation.
MacDonald and the Wildcats finished 25-9 in 2023-24, collecting three ranked wins over No. 25 Mercyhurst (Nov. 15), No. 18/21 Post and No. 15/12 St. Thomas Aquinas. Daemen reached the ECC championship game and fell in the East Regional Semifinal.
Excluding the Covid-19-shortened 2020-21 season, MacDonald’s Daemen teams won at least 19 games in each of his 12 seasons at the helm, with nine seasons of 20-or-more wins. Under MacDonald’s tutelage, forward Andrew Sischo became one of the most decorated athletes in school history, earning three consecutive ECC Player of the Year awards, three D2CCA All-American nods and becoming a two-time NABC All-American.
In his first year with the Wildcats in 2014-15, MacDonald guided Daemen through its transition from USCAA Division I to NCAA Division II. While posting a 21-10 record in NCAA Division II, the Wildcats went on to win the USCAA National Championship in their last year of participation.
Prior to Daemen, MacDonald spent eight seasons at Division III Medaille College in Buffalo. From 2006 to 2014, MacDonald led the Mavericks to 149 wins, including 104 wins in the AMCC. He was named AMCC Coach of the Year four times and led 15 players to all-conference honors, with five first-teamers and one player of the year during that span.
MacDonald’s work at Medaille was a complete revival, as he took over a program that went 4-46 over the four seasons prior to his arrival and led the Mustangs to six postseason appearances in eight years. Upon his departure in 2014, he was Medaille’s all-time wins (149) and win percentage (.641) leader, and no Division III program in New York state had won more games during his tenure.
Before Medaille, MacDonald coached at Canisius for 18 years, spending nine seasons (1988-1997) as an assistant under Marty Marbach and John Belein before serving as head coach for nine seasons (1997-2006).
MacDonald earned 108 wins as the Golden Griffins’ head coach, tied for third most in program history. In the 2000-01 season, he led Canisius to a 20-win season with a 20-11 record, landing BCANY Co-Coach of the Year honors for his efforts. Only two coaches (Jim Baron and Reggie Witherspoon) have achieved a 20-win season at Canisius since.
As the lead assistant under Belein, MacDonald helped lead the Golden Griffins to the program’s only NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 69 years. Canisius went 19-11 during the 1995-96 season, winning the MAAC Tournament and drawing a 13 seed in the big dance before falling in the first round to future NBA star Andre Miller and Utah.
MacDonald’s impact in the community has been just as profound as his success on the court. His Daemen teams were active with several community organizations in Buffalo, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Buffalo, Blessed Sacrament Athletic Club and Coaches vs. Cancer. In 2020, MacDonald received the Jim Satalin Inspiration Award from the American Cancer Society of Western New York for his dedication to the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative.
MacDonald and his wife, Maura, have four children: Matt, Patrick, Nick and Mark.
