Wright State Raiders

General Team Information:

Founded: 1970

Conference: Horizon League

Past Conferences: Midwestern Collegiate Conference, Mid-Continent Conference Independent

Arena: Nutter Center

City: Dayton, Ohio

Championships and Titles:

3 Conference Tournament Championships

4 Conference Regular Season Championships

Team History

The Wright State Raiders began their men’s basketball in NCAA Division II. Quickly, the program became a powerhouse under coach Ralph Underhill. The team won the National Championship in 1983 and finished its tenure in D-II with a winning percentage of 68.9 percent. It then joined Division I in 1987 as an independent program.

Still coached by Underhill, who is the school’s all-time winningest coach to this day (2023), the Raiders were competitive. Wright State had winning seasons in its first five seasons in D-I and finally qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 1993 as a member of the Mid-Continent Conference. It lost in the first round. 

Underhill left in 1996 and left large shoes to fill. Vitaly Potapenko, who led the Raiders’ team stats during his stay, became the first Raider to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. 

Replacing Underhill proved to be a difficult task. The program remained among the best in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference but did not win any conference titles or qualify for March Madness. In 2001, the Raiders transferred to the Horizon League. 

And in 2006, Bill Brownell took over. The Raiders were rejuvenated. Players like DaShaun Wood and Vaughn Duggins led the Wright State Raiders’ team stats. The team was a perennial 20+ win team and returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2007.

Even after Brownell left in 2010, the Raiders continued to be a winning program. Scott Nagy, the current coach as of 2022-23, arrived in 2016. Under Nagy, the Raiders had a pair of 25-win seasons and made March Madness.

In fact, since 2016, the Raiders have had the best cover rate in the Horizon League (53.6 percent). They’re one of a few Horizon League teams that are profitable on the spread in this span. While the team has yet to win in March, fans can expect the Raiders to provide consistent winning seasons while Nagy is in charge.

All-Time Wright State Raiders Records

Points Scored

• Bill Edwards: 2,303
• DaShaun Wood: 1,841
• Loudon Love: 1,792

Rebounds

• Loudon Love: 1,124
• Bill Edwards: 907
• Sean Hammonds: 832

Assists

• Mark Woods: 744
• Vernard Hollins: 465
• DaShaun Wood: 455

FAQs