Bio

Thunderbird Head Coach Dwight Gunnare is energetic, focused, and detailed. Gunnare’s system throws a lot at his players, but they throw a lot at their opponents. His winning combination is grounded in his experience with coaching basketball and a passion for his players. He believes in cultivating athletes that are leaders on and off the court.

The 2023-24 season will mark his 16th at Casper College and 42nd overall, and Gunnare is preparing for another successful run. Over his 41-year career, he has received 26 coach-of-the-year recognitions and was inducted into the Black Hills State University Coaching Hall of Fame in 2015.

His 15 Thunderbird teams have won 396 games — averaging 26.4 wins per year — and six Region IX championships since he arrived in Wyoming. That comes as no surprise to those who followed his career in Montana, where his high school teams at Colstrip compiled a 175-87 record in 11 seasons and won a pair of state championships. He followed that up with a stint at Miles Community College before coming to Casper College. In six seasons at MCC, his Pioneers won 126 games in six seasons, a .717 winning percentage. In his final season there, 2007-2008, Miles posted a 31-2 record.

Coach Gunnare believes that success goes beyond winning basketball games. Preparing his players to play at the next level is also an important part of his program. In his 15 years at Casper College, Gunnare has had 62 players sign to play at four-year universities. Thirty three of those transfers have gone on to play at Division I universities, including Arizona State University, Rutgers University, The University of Texas at El Paso, Saint Joseph’s University, Florida International University, Northern Colorado, University of Texas, Colorado State, University of New Hampshire, Southern Utah and the University of Wyoming.

Success in the classroom is also a high priority in Gunnare’s program. At Casper College, to date, Gunnare has had nine teams receive Academic All-American recognition and 46 individual players recognized as Distinguished Academic All-Americans.

Coaching Biography

• College — 2002-2022.

• Two Mon-Dak Conference Championships.

• Twelve NJCAA Region IX Sub-Region Championships.

• Five NJCAA Region IX Championships.

• Six NJCAA National Tournament Appearances.

• Fourth Place 2010 NJCAA National Tournament.

• Ninth Place 2011 NJCAA National Tournament.

• Overall College Record = 492-150 (.766).

• Overall Record at Casper College = 366-88 (.806).

• 2021-22 NJCAA Northwest Plains District Coach of the Year.

• 2021-22 NJCAA Region IX Coach of the Year.

• 2020-21 NJCAA Region IX Coach of the Year.

• 2019-20 NJCAA Northwest Plains District Coach of the Year.

• 2019-20 NJCAA Region IX Coach of the Year.

• 2018-19 NJCAA Region IX Coach of the Year.

• 2017-18 NJCAA District I Coach of the Year.

• 2017-18 NJCAA Region IX Coach of the Year.

• 2015 Inductee into Black Hills State Coaching Hall of Fame.

• 2015-16 NJCAA Region IX Coach of the Year.

• 2014-15 NJCAA Region IX Coach of the Year.

• 2011-12 NJCAA Region IX Coach of the Year.

• 2010-11 NJCAA District I Coach of the Year.

• 2010-11 Wyoming Conference Coach of the Year.

• 2009-10 NJCAA District I Coach of the Year.

• 2009-10 NJCAA Region IX Coach of the Year.

• 2009-10 Wyoming Conference Coach of the Year.

• 2008-09 Wyoming Conference Coach of the Year.

• 2007-08 NJCAA Region IX Coach of the Year.

• 2007-08 NJCAA North Sub-Region Coach of the Year.

• 2007-08 Mon-Dak Conference Coach of the Year.

• 2006-07 NJCAA North Sub-Region Coach of the Year.

• 2006-07 Mon-Dak Conference Coach of the Year.