Head Coach

Joe Scheuers

Joe Scheuers will enter his fourth year as Head Men’s Basketball Coach in the 2022-23 season. 

During his third season at the helm, the Quakers earned a spot in the HCAC Men’s Basketball post-season tournament for the first time since Earlham joined the HCAC in 2011-2012 seasons. Junior Jaden Terry earned second team honors leading the Quaker offense with 17.6 ppg. Terry also recorded team-highs in steals (52), assists (61), and field goals (140). Jaden Terry is the third player in three years under Coach Scheuers that has received at least second team honors. (Jamel Barnes 2021, Chainey Zolman 2020). Jaden Terry also earned the HCAC player of the week recognition on 12.20.21.

In his second season at Earlham, Scheuers guided the Quakers in a season shorted by the Covid-19 pandemic, where Earlham was only able to compete in 9 games. Despite playing in only 9 games Senior Jamel Barnes was named a Second Team selection to the HCAC All- Conference Teams. Barnes Averaged 18.2 ppg, second among HCAC scoring leaders. Jamel Barnes was also able to become a 1,000 point score on 2.21.21 against Rose-Hulman.

In his first season, Scheuers proved he was equal to the task as he immediately went to work to raise the Quakers' level of competitiveness within the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

A turnaround in the fortunes for Earlham men's basketball was the expectation placed upon Scheuers, who previously served as the program's assistant coach for four seasons, when he was named to the post on May 14, 2019, as the 28th head coach in the program's 122-year history.

Under Scheuers' tutelage, the Quakers posted a 10-15 overall record in 2019-20, Earlham's best record since a 13-14 mark in 2005-06, with a 6-12 mark in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference that matched the second-best conference record since the Quakers joined the league. The Quakers finished the season with three wins over their final five games, including a dramatic win at the buzzer over Mount St. Joseph, narrowly missing out on a post-season berth.

Senior Chainey Zolman was tabbed for Second Team All-HCAC honors, becoming the first Earlham men's basketball player to get the nod as either a First or Second Team honoree. Jamel Barnes Jr. was named to the Honorable Mention squad, giving the Quakers a pair of all-conference selections for just the second time since becoming HCAC members in 2010-11.

Scheuers returned to Earlham from Thomas College (Maine), where he was the Terriers' head coach during the 2018-19 season.

Scheuers posted a 14-13 overall record, 9-5 in the Division III North Atlantic Conference, in his only season at the helm of the Thomas men's basketball program. Under his tutelage, the Terriers advanced to the NAC championship game for just the third time in program history and knocked off the conference's top-seeded program, the University of Maine at Farmington, three times during the season including in the tournament semifinals. Thomas also posted a win over arch-rival Husson University for the first time in four seasons.

During his time at Thomas, Scheuers also led the men's basketball program to achieve its highest semester GPA in program history, aided in sponsoring a high school basketball tournament to support victims of domestic violence and led a group of student-athletes from the various Thomas teams in leadership development.

"I am thrilled to be returning to Earlham as the next head men's basketball coach," said Scheuers. "It is truly an honor and a privilege to accept this coaching position.  I want to thank Julie Kline (Earlham's senior director of athletics), the athletics department, and the Earlham administration for putting their faith and trust in me to lead this basketball program in its next chapter. Earlham is second to none with the resources it provides its students to have a great college experience on and off the basketball court. I look forward to getting to work very soon!"

Scheuers was the assistant coach, and later the associate head coach, at Earlham from 2014 to 2018, where he assisted in all facets of the program from scheduling and budgeting, to recruiting and skill development, to serving as the team's strength and conditioning coach. During his time at Earlham, the Quakers posted a then-record for conference victories in 2017-18, while charting the most wins in over 10 years. Scheuers helped generate over $40,000 for Earlham men's basketball through various fundraising initiatives.

"We are beyond thrilled to welcome Coach Scheuers and his family back to Earlham College," said Kline at the time of Scheuers' hiring. "It was evident when Joe was on campus during his interview that he made a lasting positive impact on our student-athletes and the Earlham community during his time as the assistant coach for our program. He brings great integrity, energy, and passion that will help lead our men's basketball program to new heights and provide our student-athletes with an exceptional overall educational experience."

Prior to joining the staff at Earlham, Scheuers was an assistant coach at Illinois College from 2012 to 2014, where he helped take a program that was 6-17 in the year prior to his arrival on staff to 13-10 in his second season with the Blueboys. He led the development of two all-conference players at Illinois College and took over all head coaching responsibilities for one month during the 2012-13 season while the head coach took a temporary leave of absence.

Scheuers began his coaching career at Trine University in Angola, Ind., during the 2011-12 season, where he assisted in the recruitment of two players who went on to earn All-America and Academic All-America honors for the Thunder.

A native of Crescent City, Illinois, Scheuers graduated from Trine University in December 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science, where he played for the Thunder after transferring from Greenville College. He went on to earn a Master of Arts in Christian studies from Grand Canyon University in 2014.