Dan Evans enters his eighth season as the head coach of the University of North Georgia men's basketball program in 2026-27 after being named the fourth coach in program history in April 2019.
Evans has quickly led North Georgia to becoming one of the top NCAA Division II programs in the country. The Nighthawks have broken numerous records en route to groundbreaking accomplishments within the program.
Since the 2022-23 season, the Nighthawks have won 89 games, marking the winningest four-year stretch in program history. During that timeframe, Evans has guided North Georgia to a Southeast Regional Championship, a Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship, three NCAA Tournament appearances and trips to the PBC Tournament in all four seasons.
Evans has coached some of the best players in program history. Most recently, Evans helped guide AJ White to become the program’s all-time leading scorer during the 2025-26 season with 2,144 career points.
The 2025-26 season was another successful year for Evans and the Nighthawks with a 22-8 record, a Runner-Up finish in the PBC Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament. From Feb. 2 – Mar. 7, North Georgia won 11-straight games, marking the longest winning streak for the program in 20 years. Colin Turner and AJ White both garnered PBC All-Conference honors, while White was also named to the D2CCA All-Southeast Region First Team and NABC Southeast All-District First Team.
In the 2023-24 season, Evans led the Nighthawks to the best season in program history as UNG collected a Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship, NCAA Southeast Regional Championship and appearance in the Elite Eight all for the first time in program history. The Nighthawks won a record 28 games with just seven losses. Senior Frank Champion led the team and PBC in nearly every major statistical category as he was named a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-American for the second consecutive season. The season was highlighted by one of the best nights in North Georgia men’s basketball history as UNG took down PBC rival Lander 70-67 in front of a school record near 3,800 fans at the UNG Convocation Center to win the Southeast Regional and punch its ticket to the Elite Eight.
Prior to 2024, Evans set a new standard for the men's basketball program in the 2022-23 campaign. He led the Nighthawks to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and win, first national top-25 ranking and the most wins in a single season (21) in the NCAA era (2005-present).
Evans coached the program's first PBC and Southeast Region Player of the Year recipient in 2023 in Frank Champion and added a second PBC Freshman of the Year honoree to the roster in AJ White.
On Jan. 5, 2022, Evans notched his 100th career head coaching victory when the Nighthawks downed Georgia Southwestern in the UNG Convocation Center.
In his first season at the helm, Evans led the Nighthawks to a PBC Tournament berth after being picked to finish 10th in the preseason league poll. He coached Ephraim Tshimanga to Defensive Player of the Year and All-Conference honors while leading KJ Jenkins to be the Freshman of the Year.
Evans landed in Dahlonega after a six-year stint as the head coach at NCAA Division II Ohio Dominican in Columbus, Ohio where he led his team to 76 wins including a 37-12 mark over the past two seasons. ODU’s streak of three consecutive winning seasons marks the first time since 2005. His 76 wins puts him as the third winningest coach in ODU history.
For the first five years in Evans’ tenure at ODU, the Panthers increased their win total from the previous year, including a remarkable run to winning the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Tournament Championship and earning a bid to the NCAA Midwest Regional berth in 2018. The Panthers defeated Malone, No. 11 Findlay and Hillsdale to claim the conference tournament title before closing their season with a setback to eventual national champion Ferris State in the NCAA Tournament. ODU finished with a 20-11 record as the Panthers won 12 of their last 13 games to enter the NCAA Tournament.
Evans was hired in May of 2013 by ODU to lead the Panthers after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant coach at Hillsdale College where he was part of a coaching staff that rebuilt the Hillsdale basketball program.
Evans played his collegiate ball at Lawrence University, a Division III school in Wisconsin, where he was a three-year starter and captain. He earned all-conference honors as a senior and helped take Lawrence to the Elite Eight in 2004.
Evans and his wife, Amy, have two children, TR & Maddie.
Updated: July 2026
