*Photo courtesy of VCU Athletics
RICHMOND, Va. – Former Lebanon Valley standout Mike Rhoades '95, the 1995 USA Today National Player of the Year and a member of LVC's 1994 national championship team, has been named the new men's basketball head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Rhoades was inducted into the
MAC Hall of Fame in 2013.
Rhoades was introduced as the 12th men's basketball head coach in program history at a press conference at the E.J. Wade Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center on Wednesday morning. He replaces former Rams' head coach Will Wade, who recently accepted the same position at the Louisiana State University (LSU).
Rhoades takes the reins at VCU after three successful years as head coach at Rice University where he led the Owls to unprecedented heights, including the program's first 20-win campaign in more than a decade in 2016-17. The team's 23 victories this winter were the second-most in school history.
The LVC Athletic Hall of Famer returns to VCU after serving as top assistant and a key recruiter under Shaka Smart from 2009-2014. Rhoades was a key member of the coaching staff that famously led the Rams to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in 2011.
Prior to joining VCU as an assistant in 2009, Rhoades was the head coach at Division III Randolph-Macon. In the decade he led the Yellow Jackets, Rhoades won nearly 200 games and led RMC to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trips to the Sweet 16.
He began his coaching career as an assistant at Randolph-Macon in 1996 under long-time head coach Hal Nunnally. The Yellow Jackets posted winning records in all three seasons with Rhoades on staff before he was elevated to head coach at age 25.
Photo Gallery of Rhoades' Introduction at VCU
During his career at LVC, Rhoades earned all-America honors on two occasions and was named the 1995 USA Today Division III National Player of the Year. As a junior, he was a key leader on LVC's 1994 national championship-winning team. He was a three-time Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Player of the Year and still ranks as the program's second-highest scorer with 2,050 career points. His jersey is retired and hangs in the rafters of Sorrentino Gymnasium.
Rhoades inherits a VCU program that has recorded at least 24 wins in 11 consecutive seasons, while making seven NCAA Tournament appearances in a row. The Rams finished 26-9 in 2016-17 and reached the Atlantic 10 Championship Game before falling to Rhode Island. VCU received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.