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Northwestern College Athletics

Northwestern College
HOME OF NORTHWESTERN RED RAIDERS ATHLETICS
HONORING CHRIST THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
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Colton Kooima

Colton Kooima was named the ninth men's basketball head coach at Northwestern in March 2025.

In his first season as head coach of the Raiders, Kooima led the program to the Round of 16, compiling a record of 28-6. It was a successful campaign in his inaugural head coaching season, as Northwestern claimed the GPAC tournament title, hosted the NAIA First and Second Rounds, reached as high as No. 3 in the NAIA Coaches Poll, and had the NAIA Player of the Year in Jesse Van Kalsbeek.

He first joined the Red Raider coaching staff in July 2021, coming back to Orange City after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at fellow NAIA member Vanguard University (Calif.) for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. In the 2024-25 season, Kooima served as the lead assistant coach at Augustana University (S.D.).

A two-time NAIA First Team All-American his junior and senior seasons, Kooima has his named etched in the Northwestern men's basketball record books. While in a Red Raider uniform, he scored 2,441 points which is third in program history behind Brandon Woudstra and Alex Van Kalsbeek. He is third in program history with 309 career three-pointers and 13th in assists with 368 in his career. During his career, he was a four-time First Team All-Conference performer, also receiving the GPAC Player of the Year award for the 2017-18 season and GPAC Freshman of the Year accolades in 2014-15. Kooima was inducted into the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.

Kooima's favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 40:31, as Kooima says, "the difficulties of life are inevitable. The strength of man alone cannot overcome the storms that we encounter. When our hope is found in the Lord, we find strength and endurance because His grace is sufficient for any and all difficulties we may face."

Colton is married to his wife, Jordyn, and they have two children, Calvin and Peyton. He graduated from Northwestern in 2018 with a degree in finance. In 2021, he earned his M.S. in Coaching & Athletic Administration from Concordia University, Irvine (Calif.).

Coaching Experience:
2025-present: Head Coach, Northwestern College
2024-25: Assistant Coach, Augustana University (S.D.)
2021-24: Assistant Coach, Northwestern College
2019-21: Assistant Coach, Vanguard University (Calif.) 

NWC Coaching Highlights:
  • 1 NAIA National Tournament Appearance
  • 1 NAIA Round of 16 Appearance
  • 1 NAIA Player of the Year
  • 2 NAIA All-Americans
  • 4 All-GPAC Selections
  • 2 First Team All-GPAC Selections
  • 4 NAIA Scholar Athletes
Kooima Year-by-Year
Year Overall GPAC (Rank) Postseason Notes
2026 28-6 15-5 (2nd) 5-1 NAIA First & Second Round host; GPAC tournament champions
TOTAL 28-6 15-5 5-1

updated May 2026