Head Coach
Theo Dean
Dean has been a part of the program in some capacity for over ten years. He was a student manager and graduate assistant from 2010-14; Dean then returned to Kirksville to become the full-time assistant and recruiting coordinator from June 2016-August 2019. Dean was promoted to interim head coach on August 23, 2019, and on January 13, 2020, after a 9-3 start to the season, including a school-record five-game winning streak to start Great Lakes Valley Conference play, the interim tag was removed, and Dean became the 11th full-time head coach in program history. Increasing fan and alumni involvement with a fast-paced style of play, Dean’s impact on the program was evident very early, and fans of Truman Women’s Basketball have seen continued success for the Bulldogs’ program.
Since his return to Truman in 2016, Dean has coached 18 All-GLVC performers (eight being named to the First Team), two Freshman of the Year selections (Katie Jaseckas-2018 and Hannah Belanger-2020), five Players of the Week, three 1,000 point scorers, one WBCA All-American (Hannah Belanger-2021), two CoSIDA Academic All-District selections (Hannah Belanger-2021 & 2022) and one D2CCA All-Midwest Region selections (Ellie Weltha, 2nd Team-2022). Dean has also coached over 55 Academic All-GLVC players and has coached two WBCA Academic Top 25 teams (2019 & 2021). Overall, Dean has been on the sideline with the Bulldogs for four of the program’s seven 20-win seasons, one Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament title, two Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament championship games, three NCAA Tournaments appearances, and one NCAA Tournament victory.
After graduating from Truman, Dean assisted the Lansing (Kansas) High School Boys Basketball program from 2014-16. Dean was the assistant coach to the father of former First Team All-GLVC performer, GLVC Conference Champion, and current Bulldog Associate Head Coach, Amy Briggs. While at Lansing, Dean focused on guard development for the boys’ team, overall player development for the girls’ team and also supervised the team managers, implementing a hustle and shot chart system into practices and games. In his first year at Lansing, he helped lead the 2014-15 team to the Kansas Substate Championship game, and Dean was then promoted to top assistant in his second season.
A Chicago, IL native, Theo Dean came to Truman in 2008 as a freshman and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications degree from Truman State University in 2012 and his Master’s degree in Leadership, with a concentration in Coaching and Sport Management, from Truman in 2014.
Dean, his wife, Presley (who also holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Truman), and their son, Theo IV, reside in Kirksville.
2021-22 Recap:
After a 4-4 finish during non-conference play, Truman Women’s Basketball seemed to hit its stride once the conference schedule started, going 10-1 in their first 11 GLVC games. From December 2, 2021 until January 22, 2022, the Bulldogs set two school records, winning 9 conference games in a row and winning 10 games in a row overall. During that winning streak, Truman Women’s Basketball accomplished two big feats, beating Drury University for the first time in school history and beating the #1 team in the nation for the first time in school history.
The team finished the 2021-22 season as the GLVC Central Division Runner-Ups and were also the #4 seed heading into the GLVC Tournament. The Bulldogs were able to produce two All-GLVC performers (Hannah Belanger-1st team, and Ellie Weltha-1st team), one CoSIDA Academic All-District selections (Hannah Belanger) and one D2CCA All-Midwest Region selections (Ellie Weltha).
2020-21 Recap:
Despite the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, Truman Women’s Basketball seemed to never lose focus during the 2020-21 season. The team followed a disappointing first round exit in the 2019-20 GLVC Tournament with a 2020-21 Central Division Championship (first in school history), a regular season 2nd place GLVC finish (2nd year in a row), a GLVC Tournament Runner Up finish (first championship game appearance since 2013-14), an NCAA tournament appearance, a #3 seed in the Midwest Regional Tournament (highest seed in school history) and an NCAA Tournament win (first since 1999). Their 77.3% (17-5) win percentage is the highest single-season win percentage in school history, and their 82.3% (14-3) conference win percentage is the highest in school history as well.
Dean’s team was able to produce four All-GLVC performers (Hannah Belanger-1st team, Katie Jaseckas-1st team, Katey Klucking-3rd team, Ellie Weltha-3rd team) for the first time in program history. Hannah Belanger also became the first WBCA All-American, becoming the first All-American since 2000 and the first 1st team selection since 1982. Belanger also became the first CoSIDA Academic All-District performer since 2010-2011.
2019-20 Recap:
Dean was promoted to interim head coach on August 23, 2019. On January 13, 2020, after a 9-3 start to the season, including a school-record five-game winning streak to start Great Lakes Valley Conference play, the interim tag was removed, and Dean became the 11th full-time head coach in program history and also the first African-American head coach in school history.
Dean’s impact on the program was evident very early, and the 2019-20 season saw continued success for the Bulldogs’ program. At the culmination of the 2019-20 season, Truman posted a record of 20-8, being one of two GLVC teams to end the season at 20 wins or more. With those 20 victories, Dean became just the second Bulldogs coach to eclipse at least 20 wins in their first season as head coach and the first coach, overall, to win 20 regular season games. The Bulldogs finished with the second-best conference record, at 16-4, after being selected in the pre-season poll to finish sixth. Those 16 conference wins are also the most conference wins in Truman history, and the second-place finish is the highest regular season finish in Truman history as well. The team also set a record for GLVC win percentage at 80%, and also set a new record to start conference play at 6-0, as the previous record was 4-0.