“I am quite excited as we look towards the future of Titan basketball,” said Critchley.  “The communities, administration, staff, and, most importantly, the students that I will get the opportunity to work with makes me very excited to begin the next phase of this professional journey.  I have had the opportunity to meet many people already from these communities and I couldn’t be more impressed.  I am so fortunate to work with two top-notch school districts ina return to high school basketball, while still having the opportunity to work within the field of public education.  I take great pride in being an educator and even more pride being part of communities that value education such as these outstanding communities do.  Therefore, the opportunity to teach and still be able to coach the great game of basketball with our students in these communities was too great to pass up.”

In his only season as Spartan coach, his team won 14 games and lost 12, just missing out on a MCAC playoff spot after finishing 6-6 in the tough Southern Division.  Critchley shared these reflections on the past year, “Being a college basketball coach at Minnesota State was a dream come true.  The opportunity to work within such a storied program will be an everlasting memory even though it was for only one year.  As for the college, Minnesota State is everything that I thought it would be.  The leadership under President Brimhall, Dave Roberts, Jason Retzlaff, and Steve King allowed me to learn plenty and become better from them being such positive, supporting, and impactful leaders.  The college is certainly in great hands will all four leading the way.  However, the most impactful experience for me was the relationships built with the student-athletes that I got to work with on almost a daily basis.  These young men opened their minds and hearts to a first-year college coach.  They were expecting one style of play and then had to go about and learn a completely new style of play.  These student-athletes represent what is best about sports today.  They worked hard, cared for one another, and found ways to overcome adversity when faced with it.  Their resiliency and passion for competition are to be commended and I appreciate the opportunity to bear witness to their efforts every single time we took the floor together.  I will miss the practices, bus trips, and post-practice conversation more than anything else.  I know that whoever takes over will have a great group of athletes to work with and even better people to form relationships with.  These young men will be successful in all facets of life.”

The search for a new head coach is underway at M State.

The college is also searching for a head football coach to replace Cory Miller, who resigned to accept the head coaching position at Panhandle University in Oklahoma earlier this spring.