NASHVILLE – Kevin Carroll, the tenth head coach in Trevecca Nazarene University men's basketball history, informed Trevecca Athletic Director Mark Elliott of his intention to accept the head coaching position at NCAA Division I Lipscomb University. Carroll informed the Trojans this morning before heading to crosstown to be introduced to the Bison squad by Lipscomb athletic director Philip Hutcheson.
University President Dan Boone said of Carroll, "Trevecca is fortunate to have experienced the leadership of Kevin Carroll. He invested in our students and embodied the mantra of "Christian, Scholar, Athlete" that guides us. He is my friend and I wish him the best."
Mark Elliott expressed his appreciation for what Kevin Carroll brought to the Hill, "Kevin brought life, energy, and fun back to Trojan Fieldhouse and made Trevecca basketball relevant again. His personal and professional skills were a perfect match for our Christian Scholar Athlete philosophy."
"Truthfully, I wish we could clone him for our next coach."
The search for the eleventh coach in Trevecca men's basketball history is already underway for Elliott.
Carroll, a veteran coach with twenty-five years of coaching experience, brought local and national ties to The Hill, including the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at Lipscomb University under Lennie Acuff.
So, last week, when Acuff announced he was leaving Lipscomb to take the Samford University head coaching position, it was natural for Kevin Carroll's name to be immediately mentioned as a leading candidate to replace Acuff at Lipscomb.
A native of Wildwood, Georgia, Carroll played collegiately at Berry College, where he first met and played for Lennie Acuff.
After college, Carroll moved up the high school coaching ranks, eventually earning his first head coaching position in 2003 at St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta, Ga.
Carroll moved to the collegiate coaching ranks in 2006, reuniting with Lenny Acuff as his assistant coach at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, an NCAA Division II program, beginning with the 2006-07 season.
He left UAH for an opportunity at the NCAA Division I level with the United States Air Force Academy and turned that into an opportunity for his first collegiate head coaching stint at Maryville University in 2010.
Carroll returned to NCAA Division I as an assistant, first at VMI and then alongside Acuff again at Lipscomb University.
KEVIN CARROLL ERA AT TREVECCA
Under Carroll's directions, the Trevecca Nazarene University men's basketball team has been on a brilliant ride the last two seasons. A year ago, 2023-24, in the first season under his leadership, the team equaled the most wins in the NCAA DII era, posted its second DII era winning season, produced its longest win streak and home win streak, and went from the worst DII offense in the NCAA to one of the best in the division.
One might think year two couldn't get any better, but it did.
Coach Carroll produced the most wins through the first 50 games of any previous coach in school history, a tall task heading into a new, historically challenging conference. There weren't many believers, either, as the preseason coaches' poll predicted the Trojans would finish tenth. Carroll and his Trojans defied the preseason predictions again, finishing fourth and securing a home postseason game for the first time in the NCAA era.
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OVERALL
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CONF
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2024-25
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19-10
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14-8
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2023-24
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16-13
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11-9
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TOTAL
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35-23
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25-17
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2024-2025 | YEAR TWO
The Kevin Carroll era at Trevecca concludes with a second record-setting season.
The team set an NCAA DII era record for wins in a season, for the second consecutive year. The 14 conference wins is also a new D2 era standard.
In their first year in the historically strong NCAA DII South Region, the Trojans were ranked for 12 consecutive weeks in the D2CCA South Region Poll.
The team capped the season by reaching the postseason tournament for the second consecutive year, this time as the the fourth seed in the Gulf South Conference.
The team led the Gulf South in assists per game, blocks per game. The team ranked No. 16 in the NCAA in fastbreak scoring.
Caleb Terry, NaVuan Peterson, and Jakari Johnson led the Trojan block party most nights.
Mateo Esmeraldo led the conference in assist to turnover ratio and assists. He ranked No. 5 and 4 respectively in all of NCAA Division II. Esmeraldo also finished No. 7 in the NCAA in free throw percentage.
Jalen Page (No. 17) and Jakari Johnson (No. 29) finished high on the NCAA scoring charts fueling the Trojan high-octane offense, both averaging more than 20 points per game, 21.7 and 20.7 respectively. Both shot above 40% from beyond the arc.
The team set numerous other records.
Blocks // Game
Previous Record - 10 vs Cedarville 2013-14
New Record - 13 vs West AL - 12/14/24
Field Goal Made // Game
Previous Record - 39 vs OVU (13-14)
New Record - 42 vs Welch (11/11/24)
Assists // Game
Previous Record - 25 vs So. Indiana (15-16) & OVU (17-18)
New Record - 29 vs Welch (11/11/24)
Field Goal Percentage // Game
Previous Record - 64% vs Hillsdale (23-24)
New Record - 69.4 vs Delta State (01/09/25)
Three-point FG Made // Season
Previous Record - 266 (23-24)
New Record -2024-25 - 273
The team set a new assists record with 29 assists in a 112-66 win over Welch College on November 11, 2024.
When the Trojans beat Kentucky Christian University by the largest margin in the NCAA DII era. Trevecca beat the KCU 105-58, a 47-point win on November 19, 2024.
Here are a few key moments on the 2024-25 men's basketball journey.
After a season opening loss in the Sunshine State to Palm Beach Atlanta, the Trojans started a five-game win streak with a win over Embry Riddle.
The first Gulf South Conference win came in a 69-68 nailbiter on the road at Auburn University at Montgomery on December 5, 2024.
On December 21, 2024, the Trojans picked up a road GSC win at West Florida which propelled them to win eight of nine games, pushing the team to the top three in the league standings. The Trojans were 15-5 overall and 10-4 in the GSC.
After winning a pair of road league games in Mississippi last week at Mississippi College and Delta State, the Trojans secured a postseason bid for the second consecutive year and earned their first home conference tournament game in the NCAA DII era.
2023-2024 | YEAR ONE
The Kevin Carroll era at Trevecca opened with an exhibition win over Rhodes College at Trevecca's 2023 Homecoming. The team followed that by winning their first regular season game at Southwest Baptist a few days later.
The team went on a tear after a 2-2 start, winning nine of their next 10 games.
The run put the Trojans at 12-3 overall and were the only remaining undefeated team in G-MAC league play, at 7-0.
Following the start, the squad made noise on the national stage for the first time in a decade and eventually equaled the most wins in the NCAA Division II era.
2023-2024 HIGHLIGHT BULLETS
Ranked nine weeks in the D2CSC Midwest Region Media Poll
Two wins over teams ranked in the Top 25
Finished with #2 offensive production in the conference
Set D2 era conference win total
Best winning percentage in D2 era
Improved overall win total by 14 over last season
Improved conference win total by 10 wins
2023-2024 AWARDS
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CSC Academic All-American
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Pete Lambesis
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CSC Academic All-District
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Pete Lambesis
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D2CCA Midwest All-Region
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Jalen Page
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Great Midwest All-Conference First Team
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Jalen Page
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Great Midwest Player of the Week | 01/08, 12/04, 11/27
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Jalen Page
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Tenn. Sports Writers Association Player of the Week | 12/14
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Jalen Page
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The surprising start eventually sank in nationally and regionally as the men's basketball team received votes for an NCAA Division II Top 25 poll for the first time since moving to the division in the 2013-2014 season. The hot start gave the Trojans 21 points in the D2CSC week eight (8) Top 25 Media Poll. The team also peaked that week as the No. 3 team in the D2CSC Midwest Region poll, the highest in the poll's history.
The start was surprising to everyone, none more than the coaches in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, they picked the Trojans 11th in the 2023-24 Preseason Coaches' Poll, but the Trojans surged into the season and finished sixth in the final standings, advancing to the Great Midwest Championships.
The Trojans finished 16-13 on the year, 11-9 in the Great Midwest, and 11-3 in the Trojan Fieldhouse.
One season after the program recorded the lowest season scoring average (55.7 ppg) in NCAA Division II, the Trojans averaged 78.8 points per game, an improvement of 23.1 points per game. The second highest total in the G-MAC. That is also the highest season points per game average for the program in the NCAA D2 era.
Several records were set during the season, two in a 103-71 win at Northwood University. First, the 19 made three-pointers are now the all-time school (NAIA/NCAA) record. Additionally, they recorded an NCAA D2 Era record with a 67.9% three-point percentage.
A byproduct of the success is first-time wins over several opponents in their 16 wins this season.
The Trojans picked up their first program win against four conference foes - Findlay, Northwood, Ashland, and Hillsdale took losses to the Trojans for the first time. In addition, TNU started the season with their first win over Southwest Baptist.
Three times during the season, the Trojans beat the first-place team in the conference. Those wins were over preseason favorites Ashland and Cedarville, and in the regular season finale, they beat the eventual regular season champions, Kentucky Wesleyan, on the road.
CARROLL BEFORE TREVECCA
Carroll's career before TNU included ten seasons of head coaching experience at both the collegiate and high school levels, having most recently served as the head coach of Maryville University-St. Louis from 2010-2017. His tenure was highlighted by setting a program record for wins, eclipsing the 20-win mark for only the second time in the program's history and becoming the first coach to defeat a nationally ranked opponent.
CARROLL AFTER BERRY COLLEGE
After serving three seasons as an assistant in the high school ranks, Carroll earned his first head coaching position in 2003 at St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta, Ga. While there, he orchestrated an improbable turnaround, leading the program from single-digit wins in year one to only its second regional title and a share of the program best for wins in 2005-06. In Carroll's last two seasons, the Golden Lions defeated ten ranked teams, including the No. 1 team in AAAA in the 2006 regional final.
CARROLL BACK WITH ACUFF AT UAH
Carroll then moved into the collegiate ranks, reuniting with Lennie Acuff as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2006-07.
NCAA DIVISION I CALLS CARROLL
After one season at UAH, Carroll moved to NCAA Division I with a three-year stay at the United States Air Force Academy. For the first time, the team reached and won a game at the Mountain West Conference tournament. Carroll helped recruit players from Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, and Kentucky.
CARROLL LEADS MARYVILLE ST. LOUIS
In 2010, Carroll's successful run opened his first collegiate head coaching position at Maryville St. Louis. He led the program through the transition from NCAA Division III to NCAA Division II.
Leading a new Division II program is tough enough, but doing so in one of the nation's toughest conferences was a big ask. Nevertheless, Carroll took the challenge and led the team to its most wins in school history and finished runner-up in the GLVC West to the eventual NCAA Division II National Champions.
At Maryville, he recruited six All-Conference performers, including Maryville's first-ever GLVC Player of the Year and two DII All-Americans.
CARROLL BACK TO NCAA DIVISION 1
His last two stops were as an assistant at the NCAA Division I level, first at Virginia Military Institute (two seasons) and at Lipscomb University, where he's been reunited with Lennie Acuff since 2019.
At both locations, Carroll has been a key to recruiting all-conference players, including freshmen, newcomers, and player-of-the-year student-athletes.
CARROLL EDUCATION / PERSONAL
Following obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education from Berry College, Carroll completed a Master of Arts Degree in Health Sciences at the University of Alabama.
Kevin Carroll is married to the former Caroline Wright of Franklinton, NC, and the two are the parents of Luke and Levi.
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