ALLENDALE, Mich. — Grand Valley State men’s basketball head coach Ric Wesley announced Monday that he will be stepping down as the team’s coach effective immediately. Assistant coach Taylor Johnson has been named the interim head coach while the search for a new coach is underway.
Wesley coached at GVSU for 18 years, bringing GVSU to a 356-170 record. Those wins bring his coaching career to rank second in Laker annals. In the 2021-22 season, the Lakers finished 17-12 overall.
In previous years, Wesley helped lead the Lakers to two NCAA DII Midwest Regional championships as well as three GLIAC regular season championships, three conference tournament titles and five GLIAC Divisional championships.
Wesley released a statement about his resignation:
"Today I am filled with gratitude as I reflect on my 18 years as head coach of GVSU Basketball. It is always hard to leave places you love but now seems like the right time for new energy and enthusiasm to direct our program. Not sure what lies next, but I’m excited to see if there is a new challenge out there that I can help with.
As long as I can remember my goal was to be a head basketball coach. After 23 years as a D1 assistant, GVSU gave me that opportunity. I want to especially thank my two Athletic Directors, Tim Selgo, for giving me that chance and Keri Becker, for her support these past five years. For that I am eternally grateful.
Coming back to the state of Michigan and GVSU has been a great blessing to our family. My parents, in-laws and extended family were able to share in the many great memories we have made here. Both of my children are now proud GVSU grads.
Administrators, support staff, athletic trainers and more. There are so many people on and off campus I owe a debt of gratitude to. Nobody can do this job alone. Thanks to all that have contributed to our program over the years. I hope to see many of you in person in the next few weeks to thank you personally.
It is difficult to express the love, respect and gratitude I feel toward the many players, student-assistants and coaches who have been on this journey with me. The many young men that have come through our program have represented our university in a first-class manner. Their efforts while here and the contributions they are now making as husbands, fathers and leaders in their communities gives me a great sense of pride. My many outstanding assistants have been the backbone of our program. Their effort, loyalty, talents and commitment to GVSU Basketball has been inspiring and greatly appreciated.
Finally, a special thanks to my children Charlie and Caroline and especially my wife Patricia. They have made many sacrifices and contributions to help make my coaching time here successful. I could not have done it without them."
Director of Athletics Keri Becker said she's grateful to Wesley for dedicating nearly 20 years to the GVSU basketball program, and released a statement wishing him luck.
“He brought a strong sense of both competitiveness and care to work every day. Under his leadership, I watched him share a deep love for his players beyond the game of basketball," Becker said. "He was a great teacher of the game, committed to making them better at the skills of basketball, while also ensuring they had a great student-athlete experience and ultimately graduated. He built a culture around relationships and family and created connections with his student-athletes that will last a lifetime."
Before coaching at GVSU, Wesley served as an assistant coach at Iowa State, Lamar and Missouri State.
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