Assistant coach Randall Herbst enters his fourth season as part of the Omaha men’s basketball staff in 2014-15.
Having previously served a two-year stint at UNO from 2007-08, Herbst rejoined Omaha after two successful seasons as the head coach at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.
Herbst led the Marauders to a 38-19 overall record, including a 23-6 record in 2010-11. U-Mary won 16 straight conference games to finish 18-4 and finish second in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings. The Marauders qualified for the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament for the first time.
After being named the Division II Bulletin Coach of the Month in February 2011, Herbst went on to be chosen as a finalist for the Clarence “Big House” Gaines Division II Coach of the Year award.
Herbst took over a program that had won seven games total in 2008-09, but he quickly produced 15 wins in his first year and then 23 in his second year while helping the Marauders climb to as high as 14th in the national poll.
From 2007-09, Herbst served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator on Derrin Hansen’s staff at UNO. In his first Maverick season, Herbst helped guide UNO to a school-record 25 wins, the North Central Conference Tournament title and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Prior to his first stint at UNO, Herbst spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Florida Southern. The 1993 Winona State graduate also served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at North Dakota from 2000-06. He was the associate head coach at UND from 2004-06. While at North Dakota, Herbst coached three NCC Players of the Year, three All-Americans, and Jerome Beasley, the 2003 NCAA Division II National Player of the Year who was drafted by the Miami Heat in the second round of the NBA Draft.
Herbst’s first head coaching experience came at Waldorf Junior College from 1998-2000, where his team notched 19 wins in 1998-99, the second most in school history. Waldorf was ranked No. 1 in the country in team defense both seasons.
His other coaching experience includes stints as an assistant coach at North Iowa Community College from 1993-97 and at Lincoln Memorial in 1997-98. At NICC, he helped guide the team to three winning seasons and the 1995 National Junior College Athletic Association Division II championship. His Lincoln Memorial squad collected 19 wins, the most in school history.
Herbst earned academic All-America honors at Waldorf Junior College as a player in 1991 and was the school’s Male Athlete of the Year. He was the team captain two years and was a two-time all-region honorable mention pick. He went on to play two seasons at Winona State, helping the Warriors to back-to-back winning seasons in 1991-92, and 1992-93 and was the team captain as a senior. He graduated cum laude with a degree in physical education. Herbst scored 1,031 points during his four-year college career. He added a master of science degree in sports administration from Minnesota State-Mankato in 2005.
In September 2012, Herbst was honored with induction into the Beaver Dam High School Hall of Fame.
Herbst and his wife, the former Kari Ann Kalenze, have a daughter, Liza, and a son, Jude.
