Jon Hawkins begins his third season as head coach of NNU men's basketball in 2025-26.
Hawkins has seen strong success in his two years at the helm, posting a 37-18 overall record and 26-10 GNAC mark while finishing second in the GNAC regular season standings both seasons.Â
Hawkins led the Nighthawks to one of their best seasons in the program's Division II history in 2024-25, winning 20 games (20-8 overall) for just the second time since joining DII prior to the 2001-02 year. NNU also earned an at-large berth to the NCAA West Regional, the third NCAA bid in the last five seasons for the program. The Nighthawks were incredibly tough at home, going 14-1 overall and 9-0 in conference play in the Johnson Sports Center. Kye Dickson led the GNAC in scoring, and was named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year and a consensus All-Region selection. Hawkins also had three other players earn Honorable Mention All-GNAC honors in Biggie Bergersen, Briggs Ranstrom, and Yaru Harvey, who was also named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year.
During the 2023-24 season, Hawkins led the Nighthawks to a 17-10 overall record and second-place in the GNAC at 13-5, the best conference mark since NNU joined Division II. NNU defeated nationally ranked Saint Martin’s twice, as well as handing GNAC regular season champion Montana State Billings their only home loss in conference play. Hawkins also had three players named to All-GNAC squads.
After eight seasons as an assistant coach, Jon Hawkins was named the 19th head men's basketball coach in Northwest Nazarene history in the summer of 2023. During his eight seasons as a coach dating back to the 2015-16 season, the Nighthawks compiled an overall record of 108-93, including a 75-48 mark over the last five seasons. The Nighthawks were especially tough at home, going 50-19 (.725) in games played at the Johnson Sports Center during that stretch.
During his time as an assistant and associate head coach, the Nighthawks qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice (with a Sweet 16 appearance in 2020-21) and won the GNAC Championship in 2022-23. In 2020, Hawkins was named to the Silver Wave’s Media 50 Impactful NCAA DII Assistant Coach list.
In two seasons as a student-athlete at NNU, Hawkins averaged 11.2 points per game, dished out 182 assists and led all NCAA Division II players with a 94.1 free-throw shooting percentage in the 2012-13 season.
Before rejoining the NNU family in 2015, Hawkins played in the Gold Coast’s Intensity Super League, one of the top summer leagues in Australia. He then toured with Athletes in Action to Israel after playing half a season in the top league in Latvia for Jurmalas-Fenikss.
Hawkins and his wife, Savanah, live in Nampa with their three children.
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