BALDWIN, N.Y. – Coming off a Patriot League Championship and NCAA appearance, men's basketball head coach Duane Simpkins has been named to the 2024-25 Advancement of Blacks in Sports (ABIS) Mid-Major Coaches Watchlist. Over half of the coaches on this year's list are competing in postseason at the NCAA tournament or the NIT, and 50 percent of them are 2025 conference champions.

The ABIS Black Coaches Watchlist highlights the top Black head and assistant coaches in collegiate and professional sports across multiple disciplines. Those selected are recognized by their peers as among the best in the business. Nominees are considered the most deserving, qualified, and prepared Black coaches in college and professional sports to advance their careers to the next level.

In addition to this recognition from ABIS, Simpkins has been named a finalist for multiple CollegeInsider.com awards:

• Ben Jobe Award Finalist – Presented annually to the top minority head coach in Division I college basketball.
• Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award – Recognizes coaches who exemplify success on the court while demonstrating outstanding character and integrity off of it.

Simpkins led the Eagles to a 22-13 overall record, the most wins for the program since 2010-11, and in just his second year at the helm he guided AU to its fourth Patriot League Championship in program history. The Eagles tied for the program record in PL wins at 13-5, and shared the PL regular season title with Bucknell before going on to host and win three games at home for the PL title.

Complete List of ABIS Finalists
Pat Sellers – Central Connecticut
Rob Jones – Norfolk State
Anthony Grant – Dayton
James Jones – Yale
Mike Jones – UNC Greensboro
Drew Valentine – Loyola Chicago
Speedy Claxton – Hofstra
Tony Skinn – George Mason
Daniyal Robinson – Cleveland State
Travis DeCuire – Montana
Takayo Siddle – UNC Wilmington
Ron Hunter – Tulane
Jordan Mincy – Jacksonville
Duane Simpkins – American University
Kevin Johnson – Southern University
Landon Bussie – Alcorn State

For the latest on American University Men's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on X (formerly Twitter) (@AU_MBasketball), Facebook (/AU.MBasketball) and Instagram (@au_mbasketball).