Joel Hanson officially became a Griffon in April 2025.
Hanson helped lead Griffon men's basketball to a 21-12 record in 2025-26 - the first 20-win season for the program in 23 years.
Hanson also helped lead MoWest back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021. That Griffon team set a new single season program record with 2,688 points scored. MoWest led the MIAA in 2025-26 in fewest turnovers per game (10.2) and made free throws (544).
Hanson also helped Noah King reach second team all-MIAA status, while Ty Henry was a third team all-MIAA pick.
Prior to Missouri Western, Hanson served as an assistant coach at Upper Iowa for the 2024-25 season and was the program's graduate assistant during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He spent the 2023-24 season with the Golden Eagles of Minnesota Crookston. The Decorah, Iowa native was a manager for the Iowa State men's basketball team during the years 2018-21.
