WKU mens basketbal announced on Tuesday, April 2, that former Hilltopper assistant Hank Plona will be the 17th head coach of Hilltopper basketball.

“My staff and I haven’t stopped working since the day we got back from Indianapolis and the NCAA Tournament and we are eager to build upon the success of the 2023-24 season into the future,” Plona said. “We will continue working tirelessly on the recruiting trail – both in retaining current Hilltoppers and identifying future ones.”

Plona, who spent last year on the WKU bench as an assistant coach, has eight seasons of head coaching experience at the junior college level with Indian Hills Community College. In his time as head coach of Indian Hills, Plona led the Warriors to a 225-35 record and seven NJCAA tournament appearances. 

“Hank Plona is a winner,” Athletic Director Todd Stewart said. “He played an integral role in many areas of our program during this past championship season, and I am confident under his leadership we will continue to build on the strong momentum that has been established.”

Plona developed multiple Division I talents in his time with Indian Hills including WKU guard Don Mchenry, the Hilltoppers leading scorer from last season. Mchenry made his way to Bowling Green with Plona for the 2023-24 season. 

Before his time with Indian Hills, Plona held several assistant coaching positions at South Plains College, Arkansas Fort Smith and a graduate assistant role at Providence. 

An introductory press conference for Plona will be held on Wednesday, April 3, at Diddle Arena and will be open to the public.