Jessup University formally welcomed Mark Darnall as the next head coach for the men’s basketball program in April of 2023. Darnall joined the Warriors after an extensive career as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I & II ranks. The 2025-26 season will be year three for Darnall in Rocklin, as he looks to add to his 27-29 record with the Warriors.
"It's a privilege to be named the next head coach at Jessup University,” said Darnall. “I want to thank President Jackson and Vice President Von Vogt for the opportunity to lead Jessup into the NCAA Division II era."
- Darnall picked up his first win as a head coach on November 3, 2023, when the Warriors took down MSU-Northern in double overtime. The Warriors then went on to clinch a trip to the conference tournament in Darnall's debut season. The Warriors took down OUAZ to start the postseason, but then fell to ACU in the GSAC semifinals. Jessup then earned an at-large bid to the NAIA Opening Round where they lost to No. 1 seed College of Idaho. Guards Myles Corey and Ty Artis earned All-GSAC honors.
- Darnall guided the Warriors to a 9-17 mark in their first Division II season. The season had many highlights including buzzer-beating victories against UC Merced, Westmont, and Fresno Pacific. The Warriors went 9-5 inside Warrior Arena. Senior Aydan Janssan ended the year as a CSC Academic All-District selection.
PRIOR TO JESSUP
Darnall comes to the Warriors after two seasons with NCAA Division I Eastern Washington University. Eastern Washington won the Big Sky regular season championship in 2023 with a record of 16-2. Darnall and the Eagles started the season on fire, winning 16 straight Big Sky games, the best start in conference history.
EWU earned a bid to the NIT in 2023, where they took down Washington State before falling to Oklahoma State on the road.
In two seasons with EWU, Darnall helped lead the Eagles to an overall record of 41-27, including a 27-11 run in Big Sky competition. Darnall oversaw the defense during that time, a unit that led the Big Sky in defensive field goal percentage in both seasons with EWU. Darnall also worked heavily on the player development side, guiding Steele Venters to 2022-23 Big Sky MVP honors.
Before joining the staff at EWU, Darnall served as an assistant coach for NCAA Division II program Chico State. During his time in Chico, the Wildcats went 52-29, reaching the national tournament once. Chico State earned a four-seed in the 2020 NCAA Division II Tournament, but the Wildcats' bid for a national title ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic also caused the 2020-21 season to be canceled, a year where Darnall was tabbed to be the lead assistant for head coach Greg Clink. The summer of 2020 saw Darnall add to his resume as Silver Waves Media named him one of the 50 most impactful Division II coaches in America.
Chico State was not Darnall's only Northern California stop. He also spent time on the bench at UC Davis, following coach Jim Les who he had assisted in the 2010 season as a video coordinator for Bradley University. The time Darnall spent with the Aggies saw the team win the Big West championship in 2015, leading to an appearance in the NIT. Darnall served as the Director of Basketball operations with the Aggies, assisting in all aspects of the program.
Darnall's coaching journey began in 2009 as an assistant coach for Peoria Christian HS, but coaching is in his blood as his uncle, Dave Darnall, is a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame for his team-leading Eureka College.
2 GSAC Player of the Week
2 All-Conference
1 PacWest Team of the Week
1 PacWest Player of the Week
1 CSC Academic All-District
1 Scholar Athlete
1 National Tournament appearance
PERSONAL
On the hiring of Darnall, VP for Athletics Lance Von Vogt stated, "We had tremendous interest in this position, and Mark rose to the top of that field of candidates because of the quality of his character and his ability as a basketball coach. Mark's passion for impacting young men for Christ through the game of basketball was evident from our first conversation, and I believe you will witness him building champions on and off the court."
As a player, Darnall was named to the NABC Honors Court at Eureka College in Illinois. Darnall led the Red Devils in shooting with a 41.4 percent clip from three.
Darnall earned his bachelor's and master's in sports management from Illinois State University. He and his wife, Meagan, have one son, Nash.
