IU Indy is embracing a fast-paced, high-energy style of basketball under new head coach Ben Howlett, who brings a proven up-tempo system from the Division II level. Howlett aims to ignite a new era for the Jaguars by blending relentless defense with an exciting offensive approach to revive a program eager for sustained success.
“First off, from a program-building standpoint, I’m bringing a style of play that’s not used a lot at the DI level,” Howlett said. “We’re very up-tempo, we guard 94 feet for 40 minutes. We’ve been in the top three or four in scoring at the D-II level every year. It’s a fan-friendly style of play. I think fans are really going to enjoy it.”
For the past eight seasons, Howlett served as the head coach at Division II West Liberty University in West Virginia, where he built one of the nation’s premier programs. He compiled a remarkable 217-37 record. He led the Hilltoppers to eight straight Mountain East Conference (MEC) regular-season titles and NCAA Tournament appearances.
A three-time MEC Coach of the Year, he also earned the Atlantic District Coach of the Year this past season. In 2023, Howlett guided West Liberty to the NCAA Division II National title game, falling to undefeated Nova Southeastern.
Now, Howlett is tasked with transforming IU Indy into a winning program, something it hasn’t been since the 2000s. He will look to build on last season’s 10-win campaign, the most the Jags have had since 2018-19, as he works to establish a new culture and identity.
“We’re not worried about what has happened in the past,” Howlett said. “We’re a completely new staff. We’ve got one player from last year’s team on the roster. I never think about past seasons. As a coach, I never think about last year’s team. I always look to the future, and I think the future is bright.
“It won’t always be rainbows and sunshine. One thing I’ve learned is that sometimes our best turnarounds are after losses because we can magnify some things that didn’t go our way.”
Howlett now faces the tall task of turning IU Indy into a contender in the highly competitive Horizon League. The Jags have never finished higher than fifth since joining the conference in 2017-18.
“For us to win, we’ve got to implement this system and do it rather quickly,” he said. “Just so our guys can become familiar with it. The good part about that is that I have a few players from West Liberty coming over to help bridge the gap. I’m getting some other D-II players that either we’ve played against that know our style of play or that are familiar with our style of play from online or watching film on it.”
With Howlett taking the job late in the hiring cycle and tasked with building an entirely new roster, significant challenges lie ahead. Establishing a new culture, navigating roster turnover and competing in a deep Horizon League will all test the first-year coach as he works to lay the foundation for long-term success.
“We have a lot of D-II players, (and) I think it’ll be tough with our guys being unfamiliar with how Division I and how the Horizon League works,” Howlett said. “I think it’s a very physical league. Maybe the size of players is a little bit different than what they’re used to at the D-II level. That’s something that we’ll have to overcome. Luckily, we have some transfers from the D-I level that can help lead our guys.”
Howlett hopes that a mix of a new coaching staff, the implementation of his system and a roster full of Division I and II transfers can help propel the Jaguars to their first winning season since 2010-11. But rather than setting concrete goals for win totals or postseason success in his first year, his focus is on establishing a competitive culture and building a team that plays hard every night. He believes that approach will set the foundation for sustained success.
“One thing we’ve never done is lay out goals, like we need to win ‘X’ amount of games or reach this round of the NCAA Tournament,” Howlett said. “The only thing that I want for this year is that at the end of the year, I want to feel like as a head coach we’re in a position to compete in the conference tournament, maybe able to win a couple of games. The motivation for my teams in the past has been that we’ve improved throughout the year, and that’s what I’m hoping for this year.”
Howlett is eager to rebuild the program and lay the groundwork for long-term success at IU Indy. With hard work, determination and the right people around him, he hopes to one day replicate the level of success he achieved at the Division II level and bring winning basketball back to the Jaguars.
“I think for us, it’s seeing that we improved and put ourselves in a position to continue to get better in Year 2,” said Howlett on his mindset for this season. “For me, and I think for the team too, we want to try and finish in the upper half of the Horizon League, obviously easier said than done. We know it’s going to be a tough challenge, but we’re not going to be a team that’s overlooked, or teams can see as an easy win. We just want to compete and put ourselves in a position to finish in the upper half of the Horizon League in Year 1.”
