Krayton Nash is a proven leader that brings two decades of experience developing student-athletes of character and action through administration, coaching collegiate basketball and tennis. Through his catalytic leadership and strong belief in fostering meaningful relationships, he has developed a propensity to revamp programs into competitive and perennial contenders, all while transforming the lives of the participants within them.
As the head men’s basketball coach, “Coach Nash” is no stranger to Cardinal Stritch University. During his previous tenure as an assistant coach from 2009-2012, the Wolves enjoyed a 78-25 overall record with a pair of top 10 national rankings. They played in three straight NAIA Division II Tournaments, with the team reaching the Elite 8 in his last season. He had a significant role in recruiting and developing the team that would go on to win the 2013 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship the following year.
Nash arrived at Stritch after a highly successful 2021-2022 season at across town powerhouse Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC). He was instrumental in the Stormers amassing a 28-6 overall record, en route to a Region IV title and NJCAA National Tournament berth reaching the Elite 8.
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Previous to MATC, Nash coached the University of Minnesota Crookston where during his tenure, he helped the Golden Eagles to their best four-season period in their program’s history. They made their first-ever appearance at the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament quarterfinals during the 2018-19 season and also posted their best NCAA Division II wins mark ever. He was also very instrumental in Harrison Cleary’s development. Cleary went on to become an All-American as a sophomore, an All-NSIC First Team, and All-Region selection in back-to-back years, all while leading the nation in free throw percentage in consecutive seasons. Cleary and 2 of his teammates moved on to play professional basketball in Europe.
Prior to arriving at the University of Minnesota Crookston, Nash spent his career successfully mentoring the youth in different positions. As the associate director and head basketball coach of the Post Graduate Leadership Program at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy, he recruited and placed players into colleges to play basketball with many of them realizing their dream to play at the NCAA Division I level and professionally after.
Nash also served as an assistant coach at Carroll College (now Carroll University) where he helped guide to the most successful period of competition in the history of that program. During his tenure, the team went 54-23. They achieved the program's first-ever national rankings while winning the 2006-2007 Midwest Conference Championship. They made Carroll's first two NCAA Division III Tournament appearances ever and reached the Sweet 16 during the 2006-2007 tournament.
His first college coaching job came at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he was a member of former University of Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan's 1999 NCAA Division III National Championship squad. Nash was enshrined in the Wisconsin-Platteville Athletic Hall of Fame in May of 2015 along with the entire 1999 championship team.
Nash earned his Bachelor of Science in industrial technology management from Wisconsin-Platteville and obtained his Master of Education in health education from Carroll University.