For media inquiries, please contact Jack Todd at jack.todd@wku.edu.
Hank Plona was named the 17th head men’s basketball coach at Western Kentucky University, Director of Athletics Todd Stewart announced on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Plona came to The Hill as an assistant in 2023. Prior to WKU, Plona was the head coach at Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College.
In Plona's first year as head coach, the team excelled on its home court, going 12-4 at Diddle Arena, even while dealing with injuries to key starters and reserves. Plona’s leadership also helped him become a finalist for the prestigious Joe B. Hall Award, presented annually to the top first-time Division I head coach. His debut season continued WKU's momentum after their 2024 NCAA Tournament appearance.
Last season as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky, Plona was integral in the Hilltoppers returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first since 2013. The Tops led the country in adjusted tempo (75.2 possessions per game, per KenPom) and averaged 80.2 points per game, their most since the 1994-95 season (80.4 ppg) and best in Conference USA. Overall, WKU went 22-12 and won the Conference USA Tournament as the league’s No. 3 seed.
One of Plona’s All-American stars from Indian Hills, Don McHenry, was named All-CUSA, first team All-District, and CUSA Tournament MVP. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin native started all 34 games for the Hilltoppers in 2023-24, averaging a team-best 15.1 points per game. He also led the Hilltoppers with 81 assists, shooting 46.1% from the field, 36.2% from three and 85.9% from the free throw line. Plona also coached Enoch Kalambay at Indian Hills. Kalambay played in all 34 games for WKU this past season, starting eight, while averaging 6.2 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game in 18.3 minutes per game.
Depth was a hallmark of WKU’s success during the 2023-24 season, as the Hilltoppers were 17th nationally in bench scoring at 28.8 points per game. Eight players averaged at least 18 minutes per game and six Hilltoppers averaged over 8 ppg.
In eight seasons as a head coach at Indian Hills, Plona won 86.5% of his games and led Indian Hills to eight consecutive ICCAC regular-season titles, six postseason conference titles and the NJCAA National Tournament seven times.
Over those eight seasons, Plona coached the Warriors to a 225-35 (.865) record. IHCC qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament in seven of those eight seasons. Plona led the team to eight consecutive ICCAC regular-season titles, six postseason conference titles and four district championships.
In his last season, Plona led Indian Hills to a semifinal run at the 2023 NJCAA National Tournament, the team’s best finish since 2014. They were ranked No. 1 in six different polls during Plona’s tenure and ranked in the national rankings all but one week, including 39 Top-10 rankings and 18 Top-five rankings over his last four seasons alone.
Plona coached 12 All-Americans in his time at IHCC, along with 42 All-Region performers. A total of 59 of his players moved on from IHCC to Division I schools, and nearly 20 of those former Warriors are currently playing professionally around the globe. One hundred twenty-three student-athletes garnered Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) All-Academic honors for their work in the classroom. As a team, the Warriors were named an NJCAA Academic Team of the Year during the 2021-22 campaign.
Plona was named the ICCAC Coach of the Year on four separate occasions while earning five NJCAA District Coach of the Year honors. Under Plona's tutelage, six consecutive Indian Hills Men's Basketball players were named ICCAC DI Men's Basketball Players of the Year. Along with the success of moving players on to the next level, Plona has seen an abundance of former assistant coaches earn spots at high-level programs throughout the country.
Notably, Tomas Woldetensae landed with 2019 National Champion Virginia, while the following season, Tyon Grant-Foster was sought out by Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks. Recent seasons also saw three former IHCC players join Power Five schools in Maurice Calloo (Oregon State), Chris Payton (Pittsburgh) and J’Vonne Hadley (Colorado).
Prior to his first head coaching job, Plona was an assistant coach at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas for four seasons. The team made three national tournament appearances in Plona’s four seasons there, winning the national title in 2012 with an undefeated record. His team also made it to the championship game in 2015, just prior to Plona being named head coach at Indian Hills.
Plona spent one season as an assistant coach at IHCC (2010-11) and one as an assistant coach at Arkansas Fort-Smith (2009-10).
The Avon, Connecticut native was a student manager and graduate assistant at Providence College under Tim Welsh and Keno Davis.
THE HANK PLONA FILE
PERSONAL
Hometown: Avon, Conn.
College: Providence ’07
COACHING CAREER
2007-09: Providence (Graduate Assistant)
2009-10: Arkansas Fort-Smith (Assistant Coach)
2010-11: Indian Hills CC (Assistant Coach)
2011-2015: South Plains College (Assistant Coach)
2015-2023: Indian Hills CC (Head Coach)
2023-24: WKU (Assistant Coach)
2024-Present: WKU (Head Coach)
| Plona's Year-By-Year Results |
| Year |
Overall Record |
CUSA Record |
Finish |
| 2024-25 |
17-15 (.531) |
17-15 (.531) |
7th CUSA |
| 2025-26 |
|
|
|
| Total (1 season) |
17-15 (.531) |
17-15 (.531) |
|
