Valentine’s Day For Loyola

Drew Valentine Replaces Porter Moser

Editor: The following is part of a press release from loyolaramblers.com.

(Chicago, IL) – Drew Valentine, who has spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach at Loyola University Chicago, helping the team to three Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championships, two NCAA Tournament berths and a National Invitation Tournament appearance, has been named the 17th head coach in men’s basketball program history, it was announced tonight (Monday). Valentine will be formally introduced at a press conference Tuesday morning on the Loyola campus.

“It is with great excitement and enthusiasm that we introduce Drew Valentine as the head coach of our men’s basketball program,” Loyola Director of Athletics Steve Watson said. “Over the course of his career as both a player and as a coach, Drew had proven that he’s a winner who does things the right way. We are extremely proud of the recent success of our program and Drew has played a key role in those accomplishments. He is the perfect person to lead us as we continue to build upon that success as we begin the next chapter of Loyola basketball.”

In eight seasons on coaching staffs in his career, Valentine has guided teams to the postseason seven times, including three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, two of which wound up with trips to the Final Four.

At 29 years of age, Valentine, a native of Lansing, Mich., is believed to be the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball. In 2017, he was named to the Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team, presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), as one of the top coaches under the age of 30.

Over the last four years on Porter Moser’s staff at Loyola, Valentine has played a pivotal role in the program’s ascension to national prominence, helping the Ramblers to a 99-36 (.733) overall record and a 56-16 (.778) ledger in Missouri Valley Conference action.

For the last two seasons, Valentine has served as the de facto defensive coordinator for a Ramblers unit that ranked 21^stin the nation in scoring defense in 2019-20 (62.7 ppg) and first in the country (56.1 ppg) in 2020-21.

A proven winner, Valentine has helped lead Loyola to four consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins, including a school-record 32 victories in 2017-18 during a magical run to the NCAA Final Four. Loyola is 6-2 in NCAA Tournament games since Valentine joined the Ramblers’ staff in 2017-18 and Loyola is one of three teams outside the Power 6 conferences to have reached the Sweet 16 in two of the last three years.

This season, Valentine’s influence was evident as Loyola posted a 26-5 overall record as well as a program-record 16 conference victories, while capturing the MVC regular season and tournament championships. Earning the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Ramblers reached the Sweet 16, picking up wins over the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament champion, Georgia Tech, as well as the top seed in the Midwest Region, Big Ten Tournament champion, Illinois.

“It is an absolute honor to be named head men’s basketball coach at Loyola University Chicago,” Valentine said. “I’d like to congratulate one of the biggest mentors and role models in my life, Coach Moser, on his new opportunity at the University of Oklahoma. The impact that he has made on this entire University will not forgotten. We will continue to do things the right way, with character and passion! The vision and standard that Coach Moser established will forever remain a part of the culture.

“I’d like to thank Steve Watson and the entire athletics administration for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be the head coach at such a prestigious University. The commitment and vision that Steve has had for the entire department has taken off and his leadership is shown through the success of Ramblers teams across the board.”

Valentine also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Oakland University, where he helped the Golden Grizzlies to 48 total wins and a pair of postseason appearances from 2015-17.

Before returning to his alma mater, Valentine spent two seasons as a graduate manager at Michigan State, where he helped coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans to a 53-21 record, two Sweet 16 appearances and a berth in the 2015 NCAA Final Four.

As a player, Valentine, who father, Carlton, was a standout player at Michigan State in the 1980s, was the heart and soul of an Oakland program that notched 87 victories and a pair of NCAA Tournament berths in his career, and he graduated as the winningest player in school history.

Valentine and his wife, Taylor, are expecting their first child this spring.

Porter Moser, head coach, University of Oklahoma
“Drew was such an integral part of all of our success at Loyola. He has a passion for people and an extremely bright basketball mind. It was an absolute no-brainer for him to take over and continue the culture at Loyola. In Drew, people will see a tireless worker but also someone who pours himself into young men. He is unbelievable at building relationships. I’ve known this for a while, but Drew has all of the qualities needed to be a great head coach.”