Luke Yaklich (born May 8, 1976) 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 and current men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach for the

UIC Flames The UIC Flames are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Chicago, located in Chicago, Illinois, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

Early life and education

Yaklich is a native of

LaSalle, Illinois LaSalle is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Interstates 39 and 80. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Originally platted in 1837 over , the city's boundaries have grown to ...

. He graduated from

LaSalle-Peru High School LaSalle-Peru Township High School, also known as LaSalle-Peru High School, LPHS, or simply LP, is a public four-year high school located at 541 Chartres Street in LaSalle, Illinois, a small city in LaSalle County, Illinois, in the Midwestern Unite ...

in 1994 after competing on the basketball team. Yaklich earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

from

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

in 1998. He served as a student manager for the basketball team. He received his Master of Education from

Olivet Nazarene University Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) is a private Nazarene university in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Named for its founding location, Olivet, Illinois, ONU was originally established as a grammar school in east-central Illinois in 1907. In the late 1930 ...

in 2004 and Master of Education Administration from Olivet Nazarene in 2009.

Coaching career

Yaklich began his coaching career at his high school alma mater in 1999, serving for a season as the head girls coach. In 2000, he became the boys' basketball coach at Sterling High School, serving until 2003. Yaklich subsequently became the boys basketball coach at LaSalle-Peru. In 2007, he was hired at

Joliet West High School Joliet West High School, along with Joliet Central, comprises district 204 Joliet Township High School district in Joliet, Illinois. West's mascot is the Tiger. Construction and expansion The school was originally constructed in 1964, one yea ...

. Yaklich led the 2009-10 Joliet team to a 24-8 record and the Homewood-Flossmoor Sectional Championship and earned 2010 District 9 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Coach of the Year honors. In his final season at the school in 2012-13, he guided the team to an IHSA Class 4A Lockport Regional title and 19-8 record. Yaklich also served as a social studies teacher, earning teacher of the year honors at Joliet West. Yaklich served as an assistant coach at

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

under Dan Muller from 2013 to 2017. He knew Muller from their time in college together at Illinois State, and he helped the team reach the NIT in 2015 and 2017. On August 4, 2017, Luke Yaklich was announced as a new assistant coach on the Michigan basketball staff. Muller recommended Yaklich for the position to Michigan's

John Beilein John Patrick Beilein ( ; born February 5, 1953) is an American professional basketball coach who currently serves as the Senior Player Development Advisor for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before being hired b ...

. Yaklich served as Michigan's defensive specialist and helped the team reach the 2018 NCAA Tournament Championship game. In his two seasons on the bench, Michigan compiled a 63-15 record. In May 2019, Yaklich was hired as an assistant at

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

under

Shaka Smart Shaka Dingani Smart (born April 8, 1977) is an American men's college basketball coach. He is the current head men's basketball coach at Marquette University. Early life and playing career Smart grew up in Oregon, Wisconsin. In high school, Sm ...

. On March 24, 2020, Yaklich accepted the head coaching position at UIC.

Personal life

Yaklich and his wife, Amy, have three children: Olivia, Griffin, and Taylor.

Head coaching record

High school

College

References

External links

Michigan Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaklich, Luke Living people 1976 births American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Illinois High school basketball coaches in Illinois Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball coaches Michigan Wolverines men's basketball coaches People from LaSalle, Illinois Texas Longhorns men's basketball coaches UIC Flames men's basketball coaches