GC MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leafs hire former player, assistant Capps as head coach
Jun. 24—GOSHEN — After former Goshen College men's basketball head coach Jon Tropf left to become an assistant under former GC head coach Neal Young at Ohio Northern University back in April, the search was on for GC athletic director Erica Albertin to find a new leader on the bench for the Maple Leafs men's basketball program.
And as it turns out, Albertin didn't have to look too far to find the right person for the position.
On Thursday, the college announced Kyle Capps — a 30-year-old GC alumnus who played for the Leafs in the early 2010's — would become the program's 16th head coach in its history.
"Coach Capps brings an incredible passion for Goshen College and our basketball program," said Albertin in a release. "I am excited for his leadership and where our team will go under Coach Capps. His ability to connect with people and bring out their best will improve our program."
"It's surreal," added Capps. "It was a long process after Tropf left. But when I got that phone call in mid-June, I realized it was real now. It's surreal to be able to come here and help this program and help out this institution that I'm so dear to."
Capps called the decision a "no-brainer" in large part due to the familiarity he has with both the program and the school as a whole.
After finishing up his playing days in 2014, Capps went on to help coach the West Noble High School boys basketball program before coming back to be an assistant for his alma mater during the 2016-17 season.
Capps then went on to Siena Heights University in Michigan, spending three seasons at the school as both an assistant and the recruiting coordinator. He came back to GC again in 2020 as an assistant before being promoted to associate head coach for the 2021-22 season.
With this being his first head-coaching opportunity, it made sense for his first shot to be within a program that he knows and cares so much for.
"Just being here and being a face on campus and within the athletic department," said Capps when asked how much his familiarity with the program assisted him during the interview process. "Without that, I'm just another name in a hat. Without my background here, nobody truly knows the work that I've put into this job and my career.
"I'll say this. Once I got into college coaching and had been around Goshen, in the back of my mind I knew one of my (head coaching) stops had to be at Goshen College. And when Tropf left, I thought, 'Wow. This might end up happening sooner rather than later.'"
Capps already has a strong idea of what his coaching philosophy will look like by playing an up-tempo brand of basketball offensively, while making the opposition as uncomfortable as possible defensively.
Capps has a lot to learn on his own as he prepares for the season this winter, but the knowledge he's gained under coaches Jim Best, Joe Pechota, Gary Chupp, Tropf and Young along the way will certainly make the process a bit easier.
"All of them had an equal hand in helping me become the coach I am now," Capps said. "At Siena Heights, I was able to grow the most under coach Pechota. He let me make decisions and learn on my own with him guiding me slowly. That's one of the best ways to grow, and I'd like to reciprocate that within my own coaching culture here. I want to be able to help my assistant coaches grow here, so they can reach the highest level of coaching that they want to get to."
Capps also plans on being in contact with his former head coach when he was a player at GC in Chupp. With him being right down the road as the athletic director at Bethany Christian, Capps will look to take advantage of that close proximity in the future.
"Coach Chupp's right around the corner," Capps said. "I can call him whenever I want to, and he can help me out with a few things and tell me his true thoughts, because he doesn't hold anything back."
As far as his coaching staff outlook goes, Capps plans on bringing back assistant coach Eric Bowen, who was on staff during the 2021-22 season. Beyond that, a second assistant may be in the works for the future.
Capps is no stranger to the challenges of building a winning program at Goshen College, but with his prior experience of being a recruiting coordinator, GC's new head coach has a strong plan in place to help get the Leafs where they need to be as his stint as head coach continues during the years ahead.
"As I've always been told, it was hard to recruit locally here," Capps said. "But over the last couple of years, we've been able to snag a few local players. I think that local talent will be able to help us. I want to be able to keep that going, while also sprinkling in guys from Florida, Michigan, Texas, and all over. It's not really about where the kids are from, it's about whether they fit our program and our institution.
"We have to be able to find guys with high character. Guys that are smart, want to learn and want to grow. ... Being able to find guys within this state is still one of the biggest things, because this is a basketball state. There's a lot of talent out here. It's just all about finding our niche and identifying those players early."
Evan Lepak can be reached at evan.lepak@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240326. Follow him on Twitter @EvanMPLepak.
