Clay Van Diest has been selected as the 10th head coach for the Marian men’s hockey team.
Van Diest replaces Zach Gaynor, who stepped down in May after five seasons at the helm.
“We’re very excited to welcome Clay to the Marian athletics family,” said Marian interim director of athletics Tony Draves in a statement. “He was impressive in every phase of the interview process, and I can’t wait to see the impact he has on our program and Marian University as a whole.”
No stranger to the NCHA, Van Diest served as an assistant the past two seasons at MSOE.
“I want to start by thanking Coach Draves and the rest of the Marian athletic department for this opportunity,” said Van Diest. “I am humbled by the chance to be a part of the history and success of the Marian University program and cannot wait to get to campus and begin with this group.”
Van Diest began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, St. Norbert, as an assistant for the women’s hockey program. He served as the recruiting and video coordinator at SNC and was in charge of all defensive systems.
A highly-decorated student-athlete at St. Norbert, Van Diest helped lead the Green Knights to a national championship in the 2017-18 season and a national runner-up finish in 2015-16. Van Diest played in 106 games during his career scoring five goals with 16 assists as a defenseman for the Green Knights. He was just as successful off the ice where he earned three AHCA Academic All-American awards.
Along with his national championship in 2017-18, Van Diest was also named the NCAA Elite 90 award recipient, given to the student-athlete with the top grade-point average at the Frozen Four.
Van Diest double majored in English and secondary education at St. Norbert graduating in 2019 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education and athletic leadership at Dickinson State.
