Tom Megyesi enters his 12th season as the head coach of the Purdue Northwest women’s basketball program beginning in 2018-19. He has continued to transform the women’s basketball program thanks in part to his high-octane offensive attack.
Megyesi continued his success in 2016-17, leading the Pride to its sixth-straight 20-win season, en route to their fourth trip to the NAIA National Tournament in five seasons.
Under Megyesi’s leadership, the Pride earned the most Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victories under Megyesi’s tenure going 18-3.
The Pride saw Cassidy Deno and Darien Thompson earn CCAC postseason honors, with Deno receiving second-team NAIA All-American honors and Academic All-American of the Year.
The Hall of Fame coach led then-Purdue Calumet to its fifth-straight 20-win season during the 2015-16 campaign, including their third trip in four years to the NAIA Div. II National Championship.
Megyesi led the Peregrines to a 22-9 overall record with a 13-6 record in CCAC play in the 2015-16 season, with junior Cassidy Deno and sophomore Katie Wampler being named to the All-CCAC team.
That wasn’t the only honor for Deno, as she was named an NAIA Scholar-Athlete, a NAIA Third-Team All-American, and a CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team selection.
During the 2014-15 campaign, Purdue Calumet finished 21-8 overall and captured its second-straight Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference South Division Title with a 12-5 mark in league play. Purdue Calumet was ranked as high as No. 8 in the NAIA Coaches Top 25 National Poll, which marked the team’s highest-ever ranking.
Under Megyesi’s tutelage, junior transfer Jada Buggs was named an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, while junior center Patrice McBee led the nation in field goal percentage and was named NAIA National Player of the Week to go along with four all-CCAC selections, four CCAC Player of the Weeks, and three CCAC All-Academic selections.
Megyesi led the Peregrines to perhaps their best season to date in 2013-14, as Purdue Calumet -- with an overall record of 25-7 -- captured both the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament title, advanced to its second-straight National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament, and won its first national tournament contest in school history with an opening-round victory over Oregon Tech. Senior Brooklyn Short was also named an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American that season.
That victory also made Megyesi the program’s all-time winningest coach in program history with his 118th win. In nine seasons, Megyesi has accumulated a career record of 161-115 (.583).
For the Peregines’ performance in 2013-14, Megyesi was honored with both the CCAC Coach of the Year and NAIA Region IV Coach of the Year awards, both firsts in his career at Purdue Calumet.
Under Megyesi, Purdue Northwest has become the one of the NAIA Division II’s most prolific offenses, while having 10 players join the 1,000-point club during his tenure. During that time, the Black and Gold have put their imprint on the school record book, setting both individual and team marks.
During the 2015-16 campaign, the Peregrines ranked first in the CCAC with 75.9 percent shooting from the charity stripe while ranking third in rebound margin with a +5.2. The Black and Gold also ranked 19th in the NAIA with 3.67 blocks per game and 43.1 total rebounds per game, while also ranking 24th in scoring offense (75.1) and defensive rebounds per contest (29.1)
In 2014-15, the Peregrines ranked in the NAIA’s Top 10 in field goal percentage (45.6 percent), 3-point percentage (35.2 percent) and scoring offense, averaging a crisp 79.9 points per game. Purdue Calumet also broke the single-game scoring mark during the season in a 122-91 league victory over high-scoring rival Olivet Nazarene.
Purdue Calumet continued its progression under Megyesi in 2012-13, reaching the 20-win plateau for the second-straight season. The Black and Gold went 21-10 overall and 17-5 in the CCAC, climbing as high as No. 13 in the NAIA Div. II Coaches’ Poll during the season. The 2012-13 squad beat five nationally-ranked opponents, earning a national tournament berth for just the third time program history.
The Peregrines had a breakout season in 2011-12, tallying 23-10 overall record and a 10-2 mark in conference action en route to the program’s first trip to the CCAC Div. II Tournament championship game. The Black and Gold’s .697 winning percentage was the program’s highest in nine years, when the 2003-04 team went 24-9.
Purdue Northwest’s success under Megyesi has been recognized by the rest of the conference and the NAIA, as he has seen 30 athletes receive All-CCAC recognition -- including 13 first-team selections -- two CCAC Freshman-of-the-Year accolades, and four NAIA All-Americans.
The future of the PNW program grows brighter each season with Megyesi’s continuous success on the recruiting front: nine of his recruits have gone on to score more than 1,000 points during their time in Hammond.
Megyesi’s teams have also excelled in the classroom, as the 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15, and 2015-16 teams earned the NAIA’s prestigous Scholar Team Award with a cumulative grade-point average above 3.0. In his time at PNW, 27 players have garnered CCAC All-Academic recognition, six have become NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athletes, one has participated in the esteemed Red Cross/NAIA Leadership Program, and one was named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American.
Before Purdue Northwest, Megyesi spent 24 seasons (1982-2006) at local Lake Central High School, guiding the girl’s basketball program to a 370-164 record in that span. Megyesi wrapped up his coaching career at Lake Central ranked 11th in Indiana girl’s basketball history in career victories. During his time with the Indians, Megyesi’s squads racked up 11 sectional championships, four regional titles, three semi-state crowns, a state runner-up finish in 1998 and a state championship in 1994.
That resume proved worthy of perhaps Megyesi’s greatest honor -- his inclusion in the 14th Women’s Induction Class into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in the spring of 2015.
The Okemos, Mich. native received numerous coaching honors during his tenure at Lake Central, highlighted by his Indiana Coaches of Girl’s Sports Association Coach-of-the-Year honors in 1994 and 1998.
Megyesi graduated from Michigan State University in 1974 with a degree in physical education. He currently resides in Merrillville, Ind. with his wife of 45 years, Jan.
The couple has three grown children, Mike of Valparaiso, Ind., Lori of Valparaiso, Ind. and Mark of Chesterton, Ind., as well as five grandchilden; Thomas, David, Oliver, Grayson and Mila.
