Kirk Sanford Earlywine (born July 4, 1964) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach who was most recently an assistant coach at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

. Earlywine was head coach at Pfeiffer and

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

and has been an assistant coach at multiple other colleges.

Early life and education

Born in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Earlywine graduated from

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc.net ...

in 1987 with a degree in physical education. He got his first coaching experience at Campbell, serving as a student assistant for the Fighting Camels.

Coaching career

Earlywine's first full-time coaching experience came under the tutelage of

Rick Majerus Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and S ...

, beginning in 1987 at

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

for two seasons. Earlywine was part of the 1988–89 Ball State team that went 29–3 and qualified for the second round of the 1989 NCAA tournament. Earlywine then followed Majerus for his next assistant coaching job at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, whey they worked together from 1989 to 1993 during four successful seasons, including the 1990–91 season with a 30–4 record and NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. From 1993 to 1995, Earlywine was an assistant coach at

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corre ...

under Leonard Drake. Earlywine had his first head coaching job in 1995–96 at

Pfeiffer University Pfeiffer University is a private university in Misenheimer, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History Pfeiffer originated from a home school operated by Miss Emily Prudden in the late 19th century. The school ...

, an

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

school in North Carolina. Earlywine led Pfeiffer to a 21–8 record and NCAA D-II Tournament appearance in his only season at the helm. Earlywine returned to the Division I level, starting as an assistant coach at

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

from 1996 to 1999. From 1999 to 2006, Earlywine was an assistant coach at

Weber State Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

for the entirety of Joe Cravens's tenure as head coach, during which Weber State qualified for the 2003 NCAA tournament. Earlywine spent the 2006–07 season on

Benny Moss Benny Moss (born April 18, 1970) is an American former basketball player and the former men's basketball coach at UNC Wilmington. He is currently an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Moss received his b ...

's staff at

UNC Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW or UNC Wilmington) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and enrolls 17,499 undergraduate and graduate students eac ...

as an assistant. On June 14, 2007, Eastern Washington hired Earlywine to replace the fired Mike Burns. Earlywine went 42–78 in four seasons at Eastern Washington. On March 7, 2011, Eastern Washington made the decision not to renew Earlywine's contract. Earlywine worked for the regional TV network

SWX Right Now SWX Right Now (Sports and Weather Right Now) is a regional digital subchannel network broadcasting high school and college sports, and automated weather and news on Cowles Company-owned stations throughout Eastern Washington state, the Idaho Panh ...

as a college basketball color commentator during the 2011–12 season. In 2012, Earlywine joined the staff of

Don Verlin Donald Gene Verlin (born June 15, 1965) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head coach at the Idaho Vandals men's basketball, University of Idaho from 2008 to 2019. Prior to Idaho, Verlin was an assistant coach at Col ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

as director of player development before being promoted to assistant coach in 2013. In September 2019, three months after firing Verlin, Idaho placed Earlywine on administrative leave.

Head coaching record

Notes

External links