Mark Prosser

{{Short description|American basketball player and coach (born 1978)}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Mark Prosser

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| current_title = Head coach

| current_team = Winthrop

| current_conference = Big South

| current_record = {{winpct|78|52|record=y}}

| contract =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|10|10}}{{cite web|url=https://www.coachesdatabase.com/mark-prosser/|title=Mark Prosser|website=coachesdatabase.com|access-date=July 28, 2024}}

| birth_place = Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| alma_mater = Marist ('02)

| player_years1 = 1998–1999

| player_team1 = Marist

| coach_years1 = 1999–2002

| coach_team1 = Marist (student assistant)

| coach_years2 = 2002–2003

| coach_team2 = Wofford (assistant)

| coach_years3 = 2003–2008

| coach_team3 = Bucknell (assistant)

| coach_years4 = 2008–2011

| coach_team4 = Wofford (assistant)

| coach_years5 = 2011–2012

| coach_team5 = Brevard

| coach_years6 = 2012–2018

| coach_team6 = Winthrop (assistant)

| coach_years7 = 2018–2021

| coach_team7 = Western Carolina

| coach_years8 = 2021–present

| coach_team8 = Winthrop

| overall_record = {{winpct|120|128|record=y}}

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships =

Big South South Division (2022)

| awards =

Skip Prosser Award (2020)

| coaching_records =

}}

Mark Prosser (born October 10, 1978) is an American college basketball coach and current head coach of the Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team.

Playing career

Prosser played one season of basketball at Marist before injuries stopped a playing career.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/mark-prosser-1.html|title=Mark Prosser College Stats|website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com|accessdate=April 13, 2022}} He continued on with the Red Foxes as a student assistant coach until his graduation in 2002.{{cite web|url=http://www.winthropeagles.com/coaches.aspx?rc=873|title=Mark Prosser - Men's Basketball Coach|website=WinthropEagles.com|publisher=Winthrop University|accessdate=April 13, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413004832/https://winthropeagles.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-prosser/873|archive-date=April 13, 2022}}

Coaching career

=Coaching beginnings=

After graduation, Prosser landed his first assistant coaching position at Wofford under Mike Young, where he stayed for one season before heading to Bucknell for a five-year stint as an assistant for Pat Flannery, where he was part of the Bison staff when the team upset Kansas during the 2005 NCAA tournament.{{cite web|url=http://www.bucknellbison.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32100&ATCLID=209086930|title=Mark Prosser Profile|work=BucknellBison.com|publisher=Bucknell University|accessdate=April 13, 2022|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328041221/http://www.bucknellbison.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32100&ATCLID=209086930|archive-date=March 28, 2018}} Prosser returned to Wofford in 2008 where he stayed until 2011 when he accepted the head coaching job at Division II Brevard College.{{cite web|url=http://woffordterriers.com/news/2011/9/14/MBB_0914114803.aspx|title=Mark Prosser Named Head Coach At Brevard College|website=WoffordTerriers.com|publisher=Wofford College|date=September 14, 2011|accessdate=April 13, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328164430/http://woffordterriers.com/news/2011/9/14/MBB_0914114803.aspx|archive-date=March 28, 2018}} In one season at Brevard, Prosser recorded a 5-23 record, and subsequently resigned his position to accept a coaching position under Pat Kelsey at Winthrop.{{cite journal|url=http://www.bctornados.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/releases/2105.html|title=Prosser resigns as Men?s Basketball Coach|date=12 April 2012|accessdate=April 13, 2022|website=BCTornados.com|publisher=Brevard College|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617092911/https://www.bctornados.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/releases/2105.html|archive-date=June 17, 2018}}

=Western Carolina=

On March 27, 2018, Prosser became the 18th head coach in Western Carolina history, replacing Larry Hunter.{{cite web|url=https://catamountsports.com/sports/2018/3/27/211732984.aspx|title=Western Carolina Names Mark Prosser Head Men's Basketball Coach|work=CatamountSports.com|publisher=Western Carolina University|date=March 27, 2018|accessdate=April 13, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413005517/https://catamountsports.com/sports/2018/3/27/211732984.aspx|archive-date=April 13, 2022}}

==2018-19: First season==

Prosser led the Catamounts to a 7–25 record (4–14 in the Southern Conference) in his first season.

==2019-20: 12 win improvement==

In his second season at Western Carolina, Prosser guided the Catamounts to a 19-12 record as WCU finished with the second-most improved mark across NCAA Division I men's basketball. The Catamounts reached the SoCon Tournament semifinals for the first time since the 2015–16 season, and had a pair of First Team All-Southern Conference and NABC All-District players in senior forward Carlos Dotson and redshirt junior guard Mason Faulkner. College Insider recognized Prosser's achievement as he was honored with the Skip Prosser 'Man of the Year' Award, named after his father.{{cite web|url=https://catamountsports.com/news/2020/3/23/mens-basketball-mark-prosser-receives-skip-prosser-man-of-the-year-award.aspx|title=Mark Prosser Receives Skip Prosser 'Man of the Year' Award|first=Steven|last=Grandy|work=CatamountSports.com|publisher=Western Carolina University|date=March 23, 2020|accessdate=April 13, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324213406/https://catamountsports.com/news/2020/3/23/mens-basketball-mark-prosser-receives-skip-prosser-man-of-the-year-award.aspx|archive-date=March 24, 2022}}

==2020-21: COVID struggles==

Coming into 2020–21 looking to continue off last season's success, Prosser led the team to an 11–16 record (4–13 in Southern Conference). After a 7–2 start, the Catamounts struggled in conference play, winning just 4 of their next 17 games and losing in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament.

=Winthrop=

On April 2, 2021, Prosser's return to Winthrop was made official, as he replaced Pat Kelsey as head coach. Prosser previously served as Associate Head Coach for the team from 2013–2018.{{Cite web|url=https://winthropeagles.com/news/2021/4/2/prosser-tabbed-as-7th-head-coach-to-lead-mens-basketball-program.aspx|title=Prosser Tabbed As 7th Head Coach To Lead Men's Basketball Program|website=WinthropEagles.com|publisher=Winthrop University|language=en|date=April 2, 2021|access-date=April 13, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302191124/https://winthropeagles.com/news/2021/4/2/prosser-tabbed-as-7th-head-coach-to-lead-mens-basketball-program.aspx|archive-date=March 2, 2022}} Six games into his first season, the Eagles beat the University of Washington to notch Prosser's first win as head coach at WU against a Power 5 conference and Winthrop's first win ever against a PAC-12 team.{{Cite news|last=Zietlow|first=Alex|date=November 28, 2021|title=Winthrop makes history! What win over Washington means to record books, Eagles future|work=The Herald|url=https://www.heraldonline.com/sports/college/big-south/winthrop-university/article256169252.html|accessdate=April 13, 2022}} The 2021–22 team went undefeated at home (13-0), which hadn't been done since the nationally ranked 2006–07 team,{{cite web |url=https://winthropeagles.com/news/2022/2/26/mens-basketball-burns-jr-double-double-leads-eagles-in-win-over-charleston-southern.aspx |title=Burns Jr. Double-Double Leads Eagles In Win Over Charleston Southern |work=WinthropEagles.com |publisher=Winthrop University |date=February 26, 2022 |accessdate=May 14, 2022}} and finished the regular season first in the South Division and second overall in the Big South. Prosser's 14 regular season league wins are tied for the most all time in the history of the Big South for a first year Head Coach in the league alongside Terry Truax who won 14 games in 1992–93. Additionally, Prosser's 23 wins on the season are the most in Winthrop and Big South history for a coach in his first year.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/winthrop/ |title=Winthrop Eagles Index |work=Sports-Reference.com |accessdate=May 14, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://winthropeagles.com/news/2022/3/6/mens-basketball-eagles-fall-in-big-south-title-game.aspx |title=Eagles Fall In Big South Title Game |work=WinthropEagles.com |publisher=Winthrop University |date=March 6, 2022 |accessdate=May 14, 2022}}

Personal life

Prosser is the son of the late Skip Prosser, the former head coach at Xavier and Wake Forest.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2018/03/27/skip-prossers-son-named-head-coach-at-western-carolina/33335299/|title=Skip Prosser's son named head coach at Western Carolina|work=USA Today|agency=Associated Press|date=March 27, 2018|accessdate=April 13, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416212426/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2018/03/27/skip-prossers-son-named-head-coach-at-western-carolina/33335299/|archive-date=April 16, 2021}}