ST. PAUL, Minn. – Macalester College men's basketball head coach Abe Woldeslassie '08 was named the D3Hoops.com Region 9 Coach of the Year, the website announced. Woldeslassie led the Scots to a 15-13 record on the season as they advanced to the finals of the MIAC Playoffs.

After a 4-9 start, Woldeslassie guided his team to an 8-3 record over the second half of the regular season, a run that started with Macalester's first win over Bethel in 29 meetings. The strong finish earned the sixth seed for the MIAC Playoffs, and the Scots defeated St. Scholastica in the first round in the first home playoff game since 2004. Road wins over Carleton and Augsburg in the quarterfinals and semifinals advanced Macalester to the MIAC championship game against Saint John's, a feat never before achieved by a sixth seed in the MIAC Playoffs. The Scots were trying to win the program's first MIAC Playoff title and become the first team to win four games in the MIAC Playoffs, but the Johnnies won a closely contested game, 75-71 in Collegeville.

Woldeslassie's teams have improved in each of his four seasons at Macalester. He was 7-18 in his first year after a 3-22 campaign the year before his arrival. Woldeslassie's second team improved to 8-17, followed by the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season that saw Macalester go 2-2. This year's squad had the program's best record since 2003-04 and highest MIAC regular-season finish since 2004-05. The 15 wins are the program's third-most over the past 40 years of men's basketball at Macalester. Earlier this season, Woldeslassie was selected as one of 50 rising Division III head men's basketball coaches in the nation by Silver Waves Media.

A two-time All-MIAC guard at Macalester, Woldeslassie has developed his coaching style by serving as an assistant at the Division III and Division I levels. He started his career at Bowdoin College before making stops at Division I programs at Dartmouth, Davidson and Siena. A native of Minneapolis, Woldeslassie graduated from St. Thomas Academy, where he was an all-conference player and his team's co-MVP in 2004.