Jacob Spielbauer

Jacob Spielbauer, a master of multi-tasking, enters his 14th season as an assistant coach under coach Mike McConathy.

Previously NSU’s director of basketball operations, Spielbauer, 37, now assists in recruiting and scouting duties along with skill development, practice planning and overseeing student managers for the Demons. He is the program’s liaison for housing and equipment, and is camp director, a role that keeps him especially busy in the spring and summer. The NSU program hosts a team camp for about 100 high schools each summer, along with several other camps designed for youth ranging from 4 up to high school seniors.

“Spiel” has been key to a pair of national postseason tournament trips by the Demons, the 2013 NCAA Tournament and the 2014 CIT, and has been integral to the success of some of the more remarkable players in school history.

In his first season with the Demons, he helped NSU reach its league-record fourth straight Southland Conference Tournament championship game. In 2010, he was part of a staff that led NSU to a second-place finish in the conference race.

A year later, he aided in the recruitment of Southland Conference 2013 Newcomer of the Year DeQuan Hicks and 2013 SLC Freshman of the Year Jalan West. He helped lead the Demons to a 23-9 finish while winning a Southland Conference Tournament championship and earning a 14th seed in the 2013 NCAA tournament.

He assisted in the recruitment of 2013-14 Southland Freshman of the Year Zeek Woodley, who finished his career as NSU’s all-time scoring leader (2,033 points). While the Demons finished with a 17-14 record, they were the fastest team in Division I basketball. NSU ranked second in nation in points per game (86.6), seventh in nation in steals per game (8.7), and eighth in nation in assists per game (16.5).

In the 2014-15 season, NSU led the nation in scoring (84 points per game) as Spielbauer helped mentor West, who led the nation in assists per game at 7.7.

The Demons returned to significant March basketball in 2019-20 as Spielbauer helped a staff nurture eight newcomers, blending with a core of veterans to finish tied for fourth in the Southland Conference. It's the fifth time since 2010 that NSU has finished in the top four of the 13-member league. NSU won its first-round SLC Tournament game before the postseason was canceled because of the COVID-19 virus.

Spielbauer was an NAIA honorable mention All-American point guard in 2007 and an Academic All-American at William Penn University in 2006 and 2007 along with earning all-conference honors for three seasons. He scored 1,300 points during his four seasons as a Statesman.

Spielbauer was team captain in his last three years and helped the Statesmen post back-to-back conference championships before they reached the NAIA Division II national tournament in his senior season. He was inducted into the William Penn Athletic Hall of Fame in October 2016.

He holds the single-season free throw percentage record, hitting 89 percent in 2005-06, and ranked second in career 3-pointers made (230) and stands fourth in single-season 3-pointers made with 101 in the 2006-07 season.

Spielbauer, a Wapello, Iowa, native, earned a master’s of sport administration from NSU. He is also a teacher at the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts.

At Wapello High, playing for his father Ken, he was a 2003 Iowa All-State pick.

Spielbauer was born Sept. 18, 1984. His father was an All-American basketball

2003-07

Hometown: Wapello, Iowa High School: Wapello HS Family: Daughter, Maci

William Penn University

player at William Penn and is also a member of the William Penn Athletic Hall of Fame.

His father Ken has been head basketball coach at Wapello for 35 seasons.