Hood College

Frederick native Chad Dickman was named the second head coach in Hood College men’s basketball history in April 2015. 

Since taking over the program, he has implemented an exciting style of play that has rewritten the Blazers' record books, led Hood to the NCAA Tournament three times and won the program its two Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Championships.

The 2026 squad was one of the hottest newcomers in Division III with the entire regular season spent in the Top 25 and the program's highest ranking at No. 15 in the country by D3Hoops.com. The Blazers boasted the fifth-ranked scoring offense in the country and scored triple digits 15 times on their way to regular and postseason MAC Commonwealth championships as the No. 1 seed. Their efforts produced a bid to host the Round of 64 and 32 at Hood College where they captured their first two NCAA Tournament victories in front of the home crowd and finished their run in the Sweet Sixteen. Three conference selections were produced and both Jevon Yarbrough and Dickman earned Of The Year honors for the conference. Dickman also was named Region V Coach of the Year from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and D3Hoops. Point guard Yarbrough earned both Region V Player of the Year honors and earned First Team All-American status from the NABC. The season broke the single-season win record for the program and tied the conference win total record.

The 2025 campaign started hot, taking down No.7-ranked Randolph Macon to take the Rotary Club of Frederick Tip-Off Tournament. The squad followed up with the trophy in the Battle of D.C. and Maryland Tournament with the 21-point victory over McDaniel. The team would earn it's second national ranking by d3hoops with a spot at No. 24. In conference play, the Blazers scored the program high in a conference game with the 121-78 rout of Eastern before dropping 112 points on Stevenson and then an overtime buzzer beater against York College of Pennsylvania. The squad would earn the No. 3 seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament and run into the angry Spartans and exit in the first round. The scoring via the three or dunk of Garrett Cox earned him First Team All-Conference honors while Garrison Linton in his all-around dominance earned First Team in the Conference and NABC Second Team All-District honors for the second-straight year.

Dickman's playstyle was shown to be effective yet again in the 2023-24 season, starting the season by winning the MMI Tipoff Tournament at Hood, then being crowned champions of the Battle of D.C. & Maryland tournament at Gallaudet, defeating preseason No. 17 Catholic in the championship match. The high-profile victories did not stop there, as the Blazers would go on to beat Cal Lutheran, who finished the season ranked No. 21, and No. 15 Widener en route to a 19-7 campaign and the program's first ever national ranking at No. 21. The team also finished with an 11-3 conference record, enough for a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. Despite coming up short in the first round against Eastern, Hood earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament facing off against Penn State-Harrisburg, where they would ultimately come up short. For his efforts, Dickman received the MAC Commonwealth Head Coach of the Year award for the first time in his career.

That team created an NABC Second-Team All-District player in Garrison Linton, who was also named to the All-MAC Commonwealth First Team for the second year in a row. The guard set a program record with two triple-doubles on the season against Eastern and Alvernia. Forward Garrett Cox was also named to the All-MAC Commonwealth Second Team in his first full season on the court.

This squad set the program record averaging 17 assists per game, coming two assists short of that record as well with 442. They also set a program-high with 40.5 rebounds per game, more than a rebound more each game on average.

Dickman guided the Blazers to one of the most successful seasons in school history in 2021-22. Hood won 20 games, one shy of the school record, and posted the best conference record in school history at 14-2. The team earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and won a pair of games at home before defeating top-seeded Eastern on its home court to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Hood faced No. 17 Oswego State, falling in the first round despite scoring more points than any Laker opponent up to that point all season. 

The program produced an NABC Second-Team All-American in Mason Wang, who was also named the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year and the MAC Commonwealth Tournament MVP. His twin brother, Evan Wang, joined him on the D3hoops.com All-Region squad. 

Hood set the program record for 3-point field goals for the third-straight year with 346, nearly 40 more than the previous mark. The Blazers made 12.8 3-pointers per game, fourth in all of Division III. 

His teams have averaged over 80 points per game for three straight seasons and tied the school record with 15.6 assists per game. 

In 2019-20, the Blazers nearly set their single-season scoring record for the third straight season, averaging 81.7 points per game, only 0.2 off the pace of the previous year. Hood's 307 3-point field goals broke the program record by 35 from the 2018-19 season. Hood dished out a program record 15.6 assists per game. Mason Wang was named All-MAC Commonwealth, NABC All-District and D3hoops.com All-Region, while Evan Wang was voted All-MAC Commonwealth Second Team. Mason Wang set the school record for points in a season, with Evan Wang setting the single-season assist record. Hood advanced to the MAC Commonwealth playoffs for the second straight year. 

During Dickman’s fourth year, the 2018-2019 Blazers set a school record for the second straight season at 81.9 points per game and improved their win total by seven games. Mason Wang was named D3hoops.com All-Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team, All-ECAC Honorable Mention and joined Michael Riley as members of the All-MAC Commonwealth teams. The Blazers earned the second seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament and hosted the ECAC Championships. 

In 2017-18, the Blazers set a then-school record by scoring 80.2 points per game. Luke Casey was named Academic All-MAC after leading the conference in offensive rebounds per game during the season. Hood led the MAC Commonwealth and finished in the top 20 nationally in free throws made and attempted.  

The 2016-17 team finished 16-9 and its .640 winning percentage was the second-best in school history. Scott Bolen was named All-MAC Commonwealth Second Team and Academic All-MAC. 

During his first season, the Blazers battled injuries to finish 13-12 overall, the program's 11th .500 or better record in its 13-year history. Davon Hill was named to the All-MAC Commonwealth team, was a CoSIDA Academic All-District pick for the second straight year and was named the MAC Men's Basketball Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Three players were named to the NABC Honors Court and the Blazers earned an NABC Academic Excellence Award for their work in the classroom.

Dickman took over as head coach after spending the last two years as the lead assistant for the Blazers under his father, Tom Dickman. During his two years as an assistant, Dickman helped the Blazers to two of their most successful seasons, going a combined 33-24 while playing one of the toughest schedules in the region. The Blazers also made back-to-back ECAC postseason tournament appearances, reaching two semifinals and one championship. 

Dickman came to Hood after a nine-year stint as associate head coach at Wheeling Jesuit University, an NCAA Division II school in West Virginia.  
While at WJU, Dickman helped build the Cardinals into one of the better Division II programs in the country, as the Cardinals made their only four NCAA Tournament appearances in school history during Dickman's nine-year stint. Wheeling Jesuit made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006, and followed it up with back-to-back appearances in 2011 and 2012. Dickman helped recruite two conference rookies of the year and, in 2012, he recruited Ohio’s Mr. Basketball (Justin Fritts) to Wheeling Jesuit, the first time in the history of the award the recipient did not sign at an NCAA Division I school. Dickman also served as WJU’s NCAA Compliance Director from 2007-2013. 

Prior to Wheeling Jesuit, Dickman coached one year at his alma mater, St. Vincent College (Latrobe, Pa.), helping the Bearcats to a 25-7 record and a spot in the NAIA National Sweet 16. 

The local product played high school basketball for his father at Governor Thomas Johnson High School. While there, he helped the Patriots win the 1997 State Championship and led the team to the 1998 State Final Four, earning all-state honors his senior year. 

Dickman continued his playing career at St. Vincent from 1998-2002, scoring 1,279 points. He also earned all-conference honors his junior and senior year. Dickman led the Bearcats to the NAIA Tournament twice, reaching the Elite 8 in 2002. 

Dickman received a bachelor’s degree in finance from St. Vincent in 2002. Dickman was inducted into the St. Vincent Athletic Hall of Fame in October of 2023. He also earned his MBA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2004.