St. Bonaventure hires Mike MacDonald of Division II power Daemen to succeed the retired Mark Schmidt

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ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (AP) — St. Bonaventure has hired Mike MacDonald of Division II Daemen University to succeed the retired Mark Schmidt as men's basketball coach, the school announced Tuesday.

MacDonald returns to his alma mater after leading Daemen, in nearby Amherst, to a 61-3 record over the last two seasons and an appearance in the Division II Elite Eight last week. MacDonald was named Division II national coach of the year in 2025.

He previously was head coach at Division I Canisius and Division III Medaille and is the only coach in college basketball history to win at least 100 games at each NCAA level.

“We are extremely excited to bring Mike back to St. Bonaventure,” athletic director Bob Beretta said. “As we set out to identify the next leader of our men’s basketball program, we developed a list of more than 20 characteristics that we would look for in the person who would succeed Mark Schmidt as head coach. Mike checked every box."

Schmidt, the Bonnies' all-time wins leader with 341, retired after his 19th season. St. Bonaventure finished 17-17 this season after reaching the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

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 more than 30. The Wildcats’ only two losses were to national finalists Gannon and Lander.

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