Evangel University Athletics

Men's Basketball Coaching Staff

Steve Jenkins

Steve Jenkins

Head Coach

(417) 865-2815 ext. 7325
Email Coach Jenkins - School Bio

Steve Jenkins enter his 30th season as Evangel’s head basketball coach in 2011-12. Jenkins, Evangel’s all-time leader in men’s basketball coaching wins, was inducted into the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame in September and is the second Evangel University representative ever to be inducted.

Last year, Jenkins was named Heart of America conference Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career after his team went 26-9 and won its fifth league championship.

Jenkins surpassed 500 career wins on Jan. 14, 2010, when the Crusaders beat MidAmerica Nazarene 81-70. His 537 career wins are the most ever for an Evangel head basketball coach. He brings a career record of 537-387 (.581) into this year.

Jenkins guided his 2001-02 team to the NAIA-II National Championship, a 35-1 overall record, a perfect 20-0 conference record and a HAAC Tournament Championship. He was named NAIA National Coach of the Year that season as his team was ranked #1 nationally throughout the year.

He has coached Evangel to five Heart of America conference titles and nine NAIA national tournament appearances. Six of his teams gained a berth in the District 16 playoffs, when the NAIA was divided into districts. Jenkins’s 1989-90 and 1991-92 squads advanced to the second round of the district playoffs and his 1992-93 team played for the district 16 championship.
In addition to being an NAIA National Coach of the Year, he has been named HAAC Coach of the Year six times. Jenkins was selected to be a coach for the senior all-stars from the Heart of America Athletic Conference in a game versus senior all-stars from the American Midwest Conference in 1998.

After serving as an assistant at Evangel for five years (1977-82), Jenkins took over the reins of the program in 1982-83.

A 1974 Evangel graduate, Jenkins earned a B.A. degree in psychology and physical education. He graduated summa cum laude. Jenkins was not only successful in the classroom, but he was also a star basketball and baseball player for the Crusaders. He earned four baseball and three basketball letters. Jenkins earned his master’s degree from the University of South Florida in 1978.

Following his graduation from Evangel, Jenkins pursued his coaching and teaching career at Evangel Christian School in Lakeland, Florida, from 1974-76. At Evangel Christian, Jenkins coached basketball and baseball. He returned to Evangel in 1977 as an assistant coach to then-head coach Aundrae Curtis. Jenkins also coached the Evangel baseball team from 1978 through 1983. Jenkins’ baseball teams turned in a 132-97-3 record. The 132 wins are the second-most by any Evangel baseball coach. In addition to his duties at Evangel, Jenkins was the NAIA District 16 men’s basketball chairman from 1987-90.

Jenkins, who has been an Evangel faculty member since 1977, was promoted to associate professor of physical education during the summer of 2002.

Jenkins and his wife, Rhonda (also a 1974 Evangel grad), are from Pittsfield, Illinois. They have three grown children - Sarah, Jon and David. The family resides in Springfield, Missouri.

Jenkins Milestone Wins:
Win # Date Opponent Score
1 Nov. 13, 1982 Missouri Valley 76-69
100 Feb. 10, 1990 at Baker 61-58
200 Jan. 22, 1996 Graceland 90-75
250 Feb. 5, 1998 Baker 67-61
300 Jan. 20, 2000 at Graceland 73-60
346 Mar. 13, 2002 vs Robert Morris 84-61 (NAIA-II title game)
350 Dec. 3, 2002 at Benedictine 66-53
400 Nov. 4, 2005 vs Park (at MNU Classic) 80-63
450 Dec. 1, 2007 Culver-Stockton 72-54
500 Jan. 14, 2010 MidAmerica Nazarene 81-70
Steve Gause

Steve Gause

Assistant Coach

(417) 865-2815 ext. 7409
Email Coach Gause - School Bio

Steve Gause will enter his third straight season as an assistant coach at Evangel in 2011-12. He returned to the staff two years ago after serving as a volunteer assistant in 2008-09 assisting in game preparation and player development.

Gause was the head coach at George Jenkins High School in Lakeland, Florida, for two seasons (2006-08) and assistant varsity coach and junior varsity head coach at Frostproof High School in Frostproof, Florida, for three years (2003-06).

As head coach at George Jenkins High School, Gause turned a program that won just four games in his first season into a district runner-up and Florida state playoff appearing squad the following season. He also helped rebuild a program at Frostproof High School as they made their first state playoff appearance in 18 years during Gause's third season there as an assistant. As the JV coach at Frostproof, Gause went from a four-win team in his first year, to a 14-4 record and 8-0 district mark by his third season.

Gause was on the Evangel bench as a graduate assistant for two years including the 2001-02 NAIA-II National Championship season. He was a two-sport athlete at Evangel winning four varsity letters in baseball (1997-2001) and two letters in basketball (1997-99). Gause received the Discipleship Award and President's Award with the basketball program and was awarded baseball's Golden Arm Award during his junior season. He was also a two-time NAIA Scholar Athlete All-American.

Gause graduated from Evangel University in 2001 with a degree in missions and earned a master's degree in school counseling from EU in 2003.

He and his wife Janet will also be in their fourth year as Resident Directors of Lewis Hall at Evangel University.

Steve Yang

Steve Yang

Assistant Coach / Video Coordinator
Email Coach Yang - School Bio

Steve Yang will be in his fourth year with Evangel’s men’s basketball program in 2011-12 as an assistant coach and video coordinator. He has been a part of three 20-win seasons and two NAIA-I National Tournament teams with the Crusaders. Yang came to Evangel after serving as an assistant at McCook Community College in Nebraska during the 2007-08 season. He was previously the Miami High School varsity and JV head coach as well as the Miami Junior High head coach in Amoret, Missouri, in 2006-07.

Yang has served as an instructor for basketball camps at Missouri State University under Barry Hinson, at Kansas University with Bill Self and at Marquette University under Buzz Williams.

He received his bachelor’s degree in Recreation and Leisure studies with a minor in Business at Missouri State in 2006. He is also employed by the Springfield Public Schools and is on the staff at Hickory Hills Elementary and Middle School. Yang currently resides in Nixa.

Rob Awil

Graduate Assistant

Rob Awil enters his first year with the Crusaders as a graduate assistant coach. Awil played against Evangel last year as a member of California State-Maritime. He played two seasons for the Keelhaulers and was part of their Cal-Pacific conference championship in 2010.  Awil also served as a player-coach for his team, working as a video coordinator and preparing scouting reports. He earned two coaches’ awards for leadership with the Keelhaulers. The Sacramento, California, native received a degree in Global Studies and is working toward a Master’s degree in School Counseling.

Jonathan Loughridge

Manager

Jonathan Lougbridge enters his second season with the Evangel basketball program as a manager. He is a Broadcasting major with a minor in History. Loughbridge played basketball for an Adrian High School team that went 28-2 and lost in the Class 2 state quarterfinals to Clever. His hobbies include video games and reading as well as speech and debate. He is interested in a career in coaching or sports media after college.