By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Great Bend native Matt Keeley seemed destined for a future in basketball. That was evident one winter night in February 2000 when he hit a dramatic game-winning shot to win an overtime Homecoming game against rival Hays. It was more evident as he earned All-American honors as a player at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, and entered the coaching world. Since 2017, Keeley has been the first and only coach at Ottawa University Arizona (OUAZ).
"It's been fun," Keeley said. "We went four wins in our very first year, which wasn't that fun. This past season we ended 25-9, making the national tournament and winning our conference tournament. As they say, it's a process, and we're enjoying it."
Keeley played for Rocky Lamar at MidAmerica. The Pioneers reached the national tournament in each of his four years, going all the way to the NAIA national title game in 2001. Keeley earned All-American honors at MNU his junior and senior seasons, and was elected to the MNU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
Keeley began dating his wife, Jana, in high school, and her life at Kansas State University ultimately led to his assistant coaching job at Manhattan High School under Tim Brooks, who later coached at Great Bend High School. Keeley spent the next 10 years as an assistant to Bob Chipman at Washburn, and Lamar at MNU. Both coaches won more than 800 games and a national title in their tenures.
"I think they're two of 24 guys who have ever done that, so I definitely had some great mentorship getting started as a coach," said Keeley.
Growing up in Great Bend, Keeley was aware of teams like Sterling, Tabor, and Ottawa in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC). When Ottawa made its sister school in Surprise, Ariz. a complete school, Keeley was hired as the first basketball coach in 2017.
"Slowly but surely here, we've been building in the last six years," he said. "The first couple years, we used a local high school as our home court, and now we have an unbelievable four-court facility that has 14 baskets. We're building our second dorm and getting it rolling."
The basketball program is also growing. The Spirit finished at 15-13 in his first year, but won just five games the following season. OUAZ improved to 13-6 for the 2020-21 season, and finished at 25-9 last year. Playing against two teams from Arizona and eight from California, the Spirit won their first conference title last winter, and advanced to their first NAIA national tournament.
"We kind of joke around," Keeley said. "Every night, we set a record because I hold the record for most wins in school history, and losses, as the only coach. One way or another, we're going to add to that every time we play."
Keeley has earned NCCAA West Region Coach of the Year honors in each of the past two seasons. He said the success is part of the natural progression of building a program from scratch.
"It's so much better in college than maybe some of the challenges that high school coaches have because I can go out and pick my roster," he said. "And that's the key. I think every coach that's pretty good will tell you, when your players are better, your plays work better. Early on, trying to convince some good players to come to a school that never existed before, and is competing at a high school that's 15 minutes from your campus was a unique recruiting pitch.
"Our facilities now are pretty big, and Phoenix is an awesome location, and scholarships have continued to improve. As those things have gotten better, so have our players, and as our players have gotten better, so has our record. Sometimes it's just that simple."
In 2000, as a senior at GBHS, Keeley teamed up with Colton Bartels, Clay Crane, and Colby Sullivan to set a school record in the 4x800m relay on the track. That school record still stands 22 years later.
Keeley remains tuned into GBHS athletics via his sister, Cindy Beck, who coaches the Lady Panther varsity basketball team, and his brother-in-law, Erin Beck, who coaches the football team. Matt and Jana live in Surprise, Ariz., with their children, Cade, Reese, Cam, and Rylee, and enjoy frequenting Kansas City Royals Summer League games.