Scott Sorenson enters his 11th season leading the Northland College Men’s Basketball Program in 2022. The 2016-2017 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Sorenson started a new era in LumberJack basketball. After taking over a downtrodden program (zero winning seasons since 1996), Sorenson’s impact was immediately felt as the LumberJacks increased their win total in each of Sorenson’s first 5 years, made improvements in nearly every major statistical category and increased their initial roster size to 18, the most student-athletes on the men’s basketball roster in over a decade.
The 2018-19 season put a cap on an unprecedented run for LumberJack Basketball as Northland finished above .500 in UMAC competition over the combined previous 4 seasons and Modesta Britten became the 2nd LumberJack to be named 1st-Team All-Conference over 3 seasons. During 2017-18 season, Northland won double-digit games for the second consecutive year. The 2016-17 season saw the LumberJacks achieve heights not seen in more than two decades, including the first winning regular season since 1996, the first home playoff game since 2000 and the first overall playoff game since 2005. Additionally, four-year starter & senior captain Dan Campion was named the first LumberJack 1st-Team All-Conference member since 2005. Over his ten seasons, Sorenson has coached 10 UMAC All-Conference selections, including 2020-21 & 2021-22 UMAC All-Conference selection Jordan Brennan, and 24 UMAC Academic All-Conference Student-Athletes.
Before arriving at Northland, Sorenson was a six-year veteran of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, an NCAA Division II conference, spending the previous four seasons as the top assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC). Sorenson also used his coaching prowess to serve as an assistant for the UMC softball team. Prior to his time at UMC, Sorenson spent two seasons helping rebuild the men’s basketball program at Bemidji State University. He also served as Head Women’s Tennis Coach for the Beavers where his program set a school record for wins in a season and he coached the 2008 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Most Valuable Player. Preceding his stint at Bemidji State, Sorenson served two years as an assistant coach at Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wis. under former UW-Green Bay standout Gary Grzesk. While at Lakeland, Sorenson helped guide the Muskies to a Lake Michigan Conference Championship in 2006.
In 2004, Sorenson had his third stint coaching professional basketball as Head Coach and General Manager of the Niagara Gamblers of the now-defunct Ontario Professional Basketball Association. From 2002-04, Sorenson was an assistant coach for former University of Minnesota Assistant Coach Dave Thorson at De La Salle High School in Minneapolis, MN. In his first season, he helped lead the Islanders to an appearance in the 2003 Minnesota High School Class AA State Championship game. He also helped develop many players that would go on to have much collegiate and professional success, including the future Division I Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year (Cameron Rundles), the future Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshmen of the Year (Joe Scott) and the future Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Newcomer of the Year (Jamar Diggs).
Before joining the staff at De La Salle, Sorenson coached consecutive professional teams, including serving as Head Coach of the Wilmington Wave Rockers of the now-defunct X-treme Basketball Association. Among the players coached by Sorenson during his time in Wilmington was former NBA First-Team All-Rookie selection Richard Dumas. During the 2001-02 season, Sorenson served as top assistant coach for the Landstede Hammers of the Dutch Eredivisie, the top professional league in the Netherlands. Sorenson’s duties while overseas included acting as Defensive Coach, Director of Advanced Scouting and Strength and Conditioning Coach. He helped lead the team to an appearance in the league semi-finals while coaching the league’s 2nd leading scorer.
From 1998-2000, Sorenson worked for the men’s basketball program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. While working for the Gophers, Sorenson’s duties included recruiting work for both Clem Haskins and Dan Monson, as well as general office work. Sorenson has also coached numerous high school and AAU teams, including stints at North St. Paul High School and Collegiate Prep (Richmond, VA).
Originally from Crystal, MN, Sorenson earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sport Studies from the University of Minnesota & has a Master’s of Science in Sport Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.
