Colton Kooima was been named the ninth men's basketball head coach at Northwestern in March 2025.
Kooima's six-year journey as an assistant coach brings him back to Northwestern, preparing him to lead a program that invested in his own athletic career.
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.).
"It is an absolute honor to be the next head men's basketball coach at Northwestern College," Kooima stated. "We have an exciting opportunity to build upon the history and tradition of Northwestern basketball. More importantly, we have a calling to serve the young men in our program and honor Christ in our pursuit of excellence."
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 a son, Calvin. 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.). If not coaching, you can find him on the golf course.Â
updated March 2025
