Johnny Tauer - Head Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches

Photo by: University of St. Thomas

Johnny Tauer

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
tauer@stthomas.edu
Phone:
651-962-5953

Awards & Achievements

2016 NCAA Division III National Champion
2016 National Association of Basketball Coaches Division III Coach of the Year
2013, 2016 Basketball Times' Division III National Coach of the Year
2-time NCAA Division III Final Four (2013, 2016)
8-time NCAA Division III Tournament Participant
5-time MIAC Coach of the Year (2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020)
3-time MIAC Division III Tournament Champion (2012, 2013, 2015)
2-time NABC West District Coach of the Year (2013, 2016)
8-time Division III MIAC Conference Regular Season Champion
2001 St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee

Johnny Tauer built an elite Division III program over his first 10 seasons and is on his way to doing the same in Division I, following one of the most historic transitions of any basketball program.

Tauer is entering his 15th year as head coach of St. Thomas men’s basketball in 2025-26. That puts him first in tenure among the nine Summit League head coaches at their schools, and in the top 30 for longevity in their current role among all DI men’s basketball coaches.

Tauer's basketball playing success here from 1991-95 led to his induction into the Tommie Athletics Hall of Fame. He joins Tommie women's hoops head coach Ruth Sinn to put St. Thomas on a short list of only five D-I institutions that feature alumni in both of their basketball head coaching roles.

St. Thomas reached another milestone during its fourth and final season of the D-I transition under Head Coach Johnny Tauer, advancing to its first Summit League Championship title game and finishing second in the regular-season standings. The Tommies compiled a 24-10 overall record—the most in the program’s D-I era and third-most by any reclassifying team during its fourth year—while becoming the only transitioning team to post three straight 19-win seasons. St. Thomas led the Summit League with a .706 winning percentage and finished with a perfect 14-0 home record, the second perfect season for the program at Schoenecker Arena. Nationally, the Purple ranked top 10 in effective field goal percentage and top 20 in 10 statistical categories, standing alone as the only program in the country to rank top 20 in 2FG%, 3FG%, FT%, and turnover margin. Junior Miles Barnstable and graduate student Drake Dobbs headlined a program-best four All-Summit League selections, with Dobbs finishing fifth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. The Tommies’ postseason resume featured wins over NCAA Tournament qualifiers Montana and Omaha, along with victories over 19-win Portland State and 25-win and Big Sky Regular Season Champion Northern Colorado. Tauer led the Tommies to 73 total wins through the transition period—second-most by any program making the move to Division I.

The program’s sustained excellence continued in year three of the transition as the Tommies finished with their first 20-win season of the DI era following a win over North Dakota State to open the Summit League Championship, beating a Bison program that reached the league title in each of the past five seasons. The Toms are just the third team to transition and earn 20 wins during its third year of DI play. Like its win total, its ranking in the Ken Pom and NET has risen each season as the program is on pace for the third best Ken Pom Ranking and fourth best NET Ranking for a transitioning team in its third year, among 45 programs since 2000. St. Thomas is the lone program to make the jump from the Division III level as the other 44 previously came from Division II.

Tauer reached his 250th career win as head coach following a 76-70 victory over Portland State, becoming the fastest to reach the milestone in program history. He is one of six active head coaches among all of NCAA with at least 250 wins and a .734 winning percentage all at one program. The Tommies swept the season series over Oral Roberts and defeated South Dakota to mark victories against every program in the Summit League. The Purple played two Power Six programs on the road, losing by a combined 10 points, including an 84-79 loss at No. 7 Marquette that finished as a two seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tommies have gone 24-4 at home over the past two seasons, the best home winning percentage in the Summit League since 2022-23, and are the only conference team with at least 12 home wins each season over that span.

The Tommies ranked among the top 20 nationally in scoring defense and turnovers per game and were among the top 50 in six other categories. Raheem Anthony and Parker Bjorklund were both named to the All-Summit League Second Team while Anthony also earned a spot on the All-Newcomer Team, the second consecutive season St. Thomas has featured a student-athlete on the newcomer team. Bjorklund was selected to the CSC Academic All-District Team for the second consecutive season.

Tauer's Tommies took a big step forward during the 2022-23 season. In moving from 10 wins in season one to 19 victories last season, the Purple had a strong finish to the season that included the program’s first NCAA Division I postseason victory. After entering the 2022-23 season picked to finish eighth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Tauer led the Tommies to a fourth place finish and a run to the semifinals of the league’s postseason tournament. The Purple nearly doubled their win total from the previous season, finishing with a 19-14 record overall and a 9-9 mark in the Summit League. Additionally, St. Thomas went 12-2 at Schoenecker Arena to rank among the top 25 percent of NCAA D-I teams in home win percentage.

The Toms' national rating by Ken Pom improved 102 spots from 305 at the end of 2021-22 to 203 at the end of 2022-23, in the top six-percent of improvement among all D-I MBB programs. Tauer's squad took 30-win Oral Roberts to the wire in the Summit League playoff semifinals, losing 70-65. The Purple beat eight of the Summit League opponents at least once. They also took a road victory at 21-win UW-Milwaukee; beat 20-win Troy; and split with 19-win South Dakota State. The Toms also beat an 18-win Merrimack team that won its conference championship. They played two Power 5 teams on the road: Against nationally-ranked Creighton, a 21-win team thus far, the Purple played the Bluejays even for 30 minutes before losing by 12. The Toms also lost to a 17-win Utah team. A quick comparison with other recent reclassifying universities provides more good signs for the Tommies. Of the 50 schools to reclassify into D-I over the last 25 years, in men's basketball, St. Thomas has the second-best improvement from year one to year two -- plus-9 wins (10-20 to 19-14).

Tauer coached two 2022-23 All-Summit League honorees in Andrew Rohde and Parker Bjorklund. Rohde also was named the Freshman of the Year and made the All-Summit League Newcomer Team. From year one to year two of the NCAA Division I era, Tauer and the Tommies improved by six conference wins, had a plus-five point scoring margin, doubled its block total, and improved its 3-point field goal defense in conference play by nearly 10 percent. St. Thomas’ first postseason victory of the D-I era came in a 67-60 win over Western Illinois during the quarterfinal round of the Summit League Championships.

Twice named a Division III National Coach of the Year, in 2013 by Basketball Times, and in 2016 by both the National Basketball Coaches' Association and by D3 News, Tauer has also received five West Region Coach of the Year honors and five MIAC Coach of the Year Awards. Among Division III men's coaches, he was the second fastest in history to 200 victories and is believed to have won more games in his first five seasons than any coach in Division III history. His .813 win percentage through 2021 ranked first among active Division III coaches, and in the top five among all active NCAA men's coaches. He was the first MIAC coach to sweep conference and playoff championships in each of his first two seasons as head coach. He’s also the lone conference individual, and one of a small number of coaches nationally, to have played in, been an assistant coach, and been a head coach at the Division III Final Four. In addition, he is the first MIAC coach to win regular-season titles in each of his first six seasons.

Tauer's 2019-20 team won 15 of its last 16 games before the season was abruptly halted in March by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Toms were ranked as high as No. 2 nationally (closed at No. 4) en route to a 26-3 finish. They beat two ranked teams to reach the NCAA playoff Sweet 16 round before the season was shut down. His team led the nation in fewest turnovers and averaged more than 10 made three-pointers a game.

In 2018-19, The Toms won 21 consecutive games en route to the MIAC crown. Tauer's team eliminated No. 1-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan on the road in the NCAA playoffs to advance to the Sweet 16.

In 2015-16, the Tommies found themselves back on top of the conference, advancing once again to the NCAA Tournament. The Tommies knocked off No. 1 Augustana (Ill.) on the road in the Elite 8; bested No. 4-ranked Christopher Newport (Va.) in the semifinals, and finally took down unbeaten and No. 2-ranked Benedictine (Ill.) in the championship to claim the program's second NCAA title in six years. Navigating one of the toughest roads they could have, the Tommies defeated four teams ranked in the top 7 in the final poll, along with Elmhurst who was ranked as high as No. 2 earlier in the season. Tauer was named MIAC Coach of the Year, NABC West District Coach of the Year, d3hoops.com West Region Coach of the Year, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division III National Coach of the Year.

The 2014-15 team won both the regular-season and the conference playoff title. The Tommies made it to the NCAA playoffs but lost in the opening round on a buzzer-beating three-pointer. They finished the season 24-4.

In 2013-14, Tauer led the Tommies to a conference regular-season crown and a MIAC playoff title-game appearance. St. Thomas once again advanced to the NCAA Tournament and dropped an opening-round game to finish the season at 23-5.

In 2012-13, UST was ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the regular season, tied a school-record with 30 victories, advanced to the Division III Final Four for the third time in school history, and set all-time program records for FG% and 3-point FG%. In addition, St. Thomas led the country in wins, winning percentage, FG%, and scoring margin, and was second in the country in assist-turnover ratio and 3-point FG %. Tauer was named MIAC Coach of the Year, NABC West District Coach of the Year, d3hoops.com West Region Coach of the Year, and Basketball Times’ Division III National Coach of the Year.

In 2011-12, Tauer led the team to a regular-season and conference playoff title. St. Thomas made the NCAA Tournament and upset No. 10 Claremont McKenna before bowing out in the opening round to eventual national champion UW-Whitewater, finishing with a 22-7 record.

Prior to being named the head coach at St. Thomas, Tauer was an assistant coach for 11 years. An All-MIAC and Academic All-America Tommie player in the 1990s, Tauer is in his 27th season with Tommie basketball. During his time as an assistant coach, he ran the St. Thomas defense for two seasons (2001-2003) and he has also directed the Tommies' offensive sets. UST’s offense during that time has consistently ranked among the best in NCAA basketball in overall offensive efficiency, field-goal percentage, 3-point proficiency, fewest turnovers, and assist-to-turnover ratio.

Tauer was inducted into the St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. He was an All-MIAC player, first team All-West Region, and Academic All-America, and as a senior led the 1994-95 Toms to a school-record 27-0 start, including an MIAC championship with an unprecedented 20-0 record. Tauer ranks 24th in career scoring (1,219 points) and 22nd in career rebounding (482) at St. Thomas, and was the school 3-point leader until 1999-2000. He ranks sixth on the MIAC all-time list for 3-point baskets. He also helped the 1993-94 Toms to a berth in the Division III Final Four.

An NCAA Postgraduate Scholar and Academic All-America honoree, Tauer earned Master’s and PhD degrees in Social Psychology at UW-Madison. Tauer returned to campus and joined the St. Thomas faculty in 2000. He is also a tenured member of the faculty, one of the only head college basketball coaches in the nation who also has a doctorate in sport-related psychology. Tauer is a Professor of Psychology where he studies factors that affect academic and athletic motivation. He published a book in 2016 on youth sports, parents, and motivation, titled “Why Less is More for WOSPs (Well-Intentioned, Overinvolved Sports Parents): How to be the best Sports Parent You Can Be,” and has also published his work in top academic journals.

Prior to attending St. Thomas, Tauer graduated from Cretin-Derham Hall, where he was named all-state in both basketball and baseball, captain of both sports, and won state championships in baseball (1990) and basketball (1991).

Tauer lives in St. Paul with his sons Jack, Adam, and RQ, his daughter Issa, and his wife Chancey, who co-founded Prodeo Academy, a network of charter schools in the Twin Cities. Tauer's father, John, played golf at St. Thomas before graduating in 1963.

Johnny Tauer Year-By-Year

Division III Totals
Year	Overall	MIAC	Place
2011-12	22-7	16-4	Tie 1st
2012-13	30-2	19-1	1st
2013-14	22-6	18-2	1st
2014-15	24-4	17-3	1st
2015-16	30-3	18-2	1st
2016-17	19-8	15-5	Tie 1st
2017-18	14-12	12-8	Tie 5th
2018-19	24-5	18-2	1st
2019-20	26-3	19-1	Tie 1st
2020-21	7-0	5-0	1st
	218-50 (.813)	157-28 (.849)
Division I Totals
Year	Overall	Summit
2021-22	10-20	4-14	Tie 8th
2022-23	19-14	9-9	Tie 4th
2023-24	20-13	9-7	4th
2024-25	24-10	12-4	2nd
	73-57 (.562)	34-34 (.500)
Career Totals
	291-107 (.731)	191-62 (.755)