After establishing himself as one of the top Division II men’s basketball coaches over the last decade at West Liberty, Ben Howlett is ready to take on a new challenge.

The 2005 Marietta High School graduate has been named the next head coach at IU Indianapolis, a Division I program which competes in the Horizon League conference.

Formerly known as IU-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), the Jaguars went 10-22 last season under former head coach Paul Corsaro.

During eight years as head coach of the Hilltoppers, Howlett produced a record of 217-37 and won eight straight Mountain East Conference regular season championships. Howlett guided West Liberty to the 2022-2023 national championship game, falling to Nova Southeastern.

Prior to his head coaching tenure, Howlett was an assistant at West Lib for six seasons under head coach Jim Crutchfield, who he played under from 2005 to 2009.

West Liberty averaged 100.2 points per game last season on the way to a 30-5 record. The Hilltoppers averaged 32.5 3-point attempts per game and shot 36.6% from the 3-point line. The only team that averaged more points in Division II than West Liberty was Crutchfield’s Nova Southeastern (101.7 ppg).

Howlett is the boys basketball program’s all-time leading scorer at Marietta High School.

“The last 14 years have been nothing short of amazing,” Howlett said in a statement. “I have been truly honored to represent Topper Nation as your men’s basketball coach. Though the championships were great, my favorite part was getting to know our passionate fanbase. West Liberty has the best fanbase in all of DII, and I cannot be more proud to call West Liberty my alma mater. We have accomplished great feats here and I cannot wait to continue to follow the Toppers from my new home! You mean the world to me and I cannot thank you enough!”