Kansas basketball coaching legend Steve Eck announces plans to leave Hutchinson
Steve Eck, a legendary basketball coach in Kansas, announced on Monday his plans to step down as head coach of the Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team following their run in the upcoming NJCAA Tournament.
It marks the end of a 12-year era for Eck, 65, at Hutchinson, where he has become the program’s all-time winningest coach with a 326-76 record. He led the Blue Dragons to the 2017 NJCAA championship and to six appearances in the NJCAA Tournament, despite the program having gone 12 years without a national tournament bid when he took over in 2009.
“Growing up in Haven, Kansas, which is 10 minutes from Hutch, I used to come to all of the Hutch juco games,” Eck told The Eagle. “I never thought I was going to coach here. I always wanted to, but never thought I would. My administration and my assistant coaches have been tremendous over the years and of course we have the best fans in the country.”
Eck told The Eagle that he knew this would be his final go-around in Hutchinson at the start of this season. After spending more than two decades operating under the grind of coaching and recruiting almost year-round at the collegiate level, Eck said he knew it was time to step down. He said he’s already bought a new house in Wichita, where he hopes to spend more time with his family.
While he said he was retiring from Hutchinson, Eck did not say he was retiring from coaching basketball.
Eck declined to comment Monday on where he’d be coaching next, but he did say that “there will be an announcement about my future plans” on Tuesday. Multiple sources have told The Eagle that Eck is expected to be announced as the boys basketball coach at Kapaun Mount Carmel in what would be a return to the City League, where Eck led South to 10 straight league titles, a 227-15 record and six state championships from 1986-96.
A Kapaun spokesperson declined comment when reached on Monday.
For now, Eck said he is entirely focused on leading the Blue Dragons (18-6) in the NJCAA Tournament, where they will play Kilgore College at Hutchinson Sports Arena in the opening round next Monday.
“I’m so proud of this group being the sixth team to get back to the national tournament in 12 years,” Eck said. “These guys deserve it because it’s a bunch of guys who truly like each other and don’t care who gets the credit. They’re just a great bunch to coach. I knew at the beginning of the year I was going to retire and this is a great group of guys to go out with. Hopefully we can make some noise in the tournament.”
Eck was also the coach at Butler County, Redlands and Cowley, as he is the only coach in NJCAA history to take four different schools to No. 1 in the national rankings. He has amassed an NJCAA coaching record of 648-128 (83.5 win percentage) in 24 seasons and ranks third all-time in Jayhawk Conference coaching victories and fifth all-time in Region VI. He won the 2017 NJCAA Coach of the Year award following Hutchinson’s national title and was also inducted into the NJCAA Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2019.
Whether it was at the junior high, high school or community college level, Eck has been one of the winningest coaches in Kansas history. Across all three levels, Eck has compiled a career record of 977-162 for a winning percentage of 85.8%.
“The Steve Eck era brought so much excitement back into Blue Dragon men’s basketball,” said Hutchinson athletic director Josh Gooch in a statement. “His record and accolades speak for themselves as a national championship and hall of fame coach.
“The players, coaches, administration and all of Blue Dragon Nation were fortunate to have Coach Eck lead the program for 12 years. We wish coach well as he starts a new chapter.”
Looking back on his collegiate coaching career, Eck said he will value the relationships with his players over the championships and wins.
“I think if you ask any coach, they’ll tell you that the wins are nice but they’re not what you coach for,” Eck said. “I always valued my relationships with my players and my former players. I always enjoy talking to them on their birthdays and keeping up with them after they leave. To me, that’s what I’ll always remember is the relationships that you build.”
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