WAYNE, NE (NorthernSun.org) – Wayne State College Director of Athletics Mike Powicki has announced that Brian Ortmeier has been named as the new head women’s basketball coach for the Wildcats, becoming the 12th head coach in the 55-year history of the program.
“We are very excited to have Coach Ortmeier become the next head coach of Wildcat women’s basketball,” said Powicki. He comes highly recommended with a track record of building successful women’s basketball programs. During the process he articulated a recruiting-to-culture philosophy and a thorough plan for creating a positive and well-rounded student-athlete experience. We look forward to Brian and his family joining the WSC community!”
Ortmeier brings 16 years of collegiate experience to the Wildcat bench and inherits a program that was 11-16 last season with an 8-14 mark in the NSIC. He comes to Wayne after leading the Briar Cliff women’s basketball team the last three seasons to an 80-24 record that included 15 wins over NAIA Top 25 teams.
This season, Ortmeier led the Chargers to a 30-6 season and a third straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament that ended with a national semi-final appearance and a final ranking of fifth in NAIA. Under Ortmeier in the other two seasons at Briar Cliff, the Chargers posted records of 24-10 in the 2023-24 season (NAIA Elite 8) and a 26-8 record in his first year at BCU in 2022-23 with a trip to the NAIA Sweet 16 while also winning the school’s first-ever Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament title.
Ortmeier’s teams have also excelled in the classroom while at Briar Cliff, earning the top grade point average in NAIA during the 2023-24 season (3.83) along with the third-best GPA in 2022-23 at 3.84, earning NAIA Scholar Team Awards both seasons.
Other coaching stops for Ortmeier include two years (2020-22) at Iowa Central Community College, leading the Tritons to a 37-18 record and one trip to the Elite 8 of the NJCAA National Tournament. He also served four years as head coach at Laramie County Community College in Wyoming, where he re-started a program and built the team into a conference championship contender his last two seasons with records of 19-12 and 18-13.
Ortmeier also served as head coach for two seasons at Colorado Northwestern Community College (2014-16) where he took over a two-win program and finished 10-19 in his second season. He began his coaching career at the University of Richmond as a graduate assistant and was an assistant coach at McPherson College from 2010-13 before spending one year at Dakota State as an assistant coach.
A native of Dodge, Ortmeier earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Nebraska and obtained a master’s degree in sport leadership and health and human performance from Virginia Commonwealth University.
“First off, I want to thank Wayne State College Athletic Director Mike Powicki, Dr. Rames, and the search committee for giving me the opportunity to lead this storied program,” remarked Ortmeier. Wayne State College women’s basketball has a long history of success and it’s an honor to be their next head coach. Our team identity will be built around toughness, togetherness and a strong team culture on and off the court. I can’t wait to meet the team and to get started building something special WSC. Go Wildcats!”
Since joining the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 1999, Wildcat women’s basketball has a rich tradition of success winning five regular season championships, three NSIC Tournament titles and one Central Region title in 2012. WSC women’s basketball has qualified for the NCAA Division II National Tournament seven times since 2006 and has had 10 20-win seasons since 2004.
Powicki stated that a formal introduction of Ortmeier as head women’s basketball coach at Wayne State will be announced at a later date