Mitch Rolls Named Iowa Western Head Women's Basketball Coach
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Iowa Western Community College announced today that Mitch Rolls has been named its 8th head coach of the women's basketball program.
"I am excited about having Coach Mitch Rolls take the lead of the Reiver Women's Basketball program," said Iowa Western President Dr. Dan Kinney. "Coach Rolls has a proven winning success that matches the top notched programs we have at Iowa Western. Once I met with Coach Rolls, I could see his drive for success not only on the court but in the classroom for his athletes. I am looking forward to the next chapter in Reivers Women's Basketball."
"I am extremely thankful and excited to be the next head women's basketball coach at Iowa Western Community College," said Rolls.
Coach Rolls comes to Council Bluffs after spending the last eight seasons at NJCAA DII Labette Community College in Parsons, Kansas. During his time with the Cardinals, he led the program to a record of 159-66, winning the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference championship in 2020 and 2023. Coach Rolls' teams finished ranked in the final NJCAA DII polls in his last seven seasons, including a top-ten finish in each of the last six.
The 2019-20 season saw the Cardinals finish 25-4 and was the number two seed at the NJCAA D2 national championship before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the championships. Their #2 ranking in the final NJCAA poll was the highest finish in school history. The 2020-21 shortened season saw the preseason top-ranked Cardinals start 12-0 before COVID protocols halted their season for two weeks.
This past season, Coach Rolls led his team to a 26-5 record, a share of the KJCCC Championship, and a runner-up finish in the Region 6/Plains District Tournament. The Cardinals finished ranked fifth in the NJCAA DII polls.
Five players have earned NJCAA DII All-American honors under Coach Rolls. Additionally, 27 athletes were named to the KJCCC All-Conference teams and 23 were NJCAA All-Region VI selections. Coach Rolls saw 42 players sign to four-year schools during his tenure at Labette, including 11 to NCAA Division I programs.
"I am very excited to have Coach Rolls join us here at Iowa Western," mentioned Iowa Western Athletic Director Shane Larson. "I have watched him build a nationally prominent program down at Labette over the past eight years and he is exactly the right candidate to maintain our women's basketball programs' level of success and take the next step on the national stage. Coach Rolls is highly respected among his peers and we can't wait to see what he will bring to Iowa Western."
Prior to Labette, Mitch played professionally in the Czech Republic for the BK Lions Jindrichuv Hradec, competing in the Mattoni National Basketball League. There, he led the BK Lions in assists, steals, and minutes played, and was the second-leading scorer while being the team captain.
Rolls played collegiately at NCAA Division 1 Colgate University in Hamilton, NY, and was a four-year starting point guard for the Raiders. Rolls was named to the 2009-10 Patriot League All-Rookie Team his freshman year and ended his career as the school's all-time leader in games played and started. He currently sits 5th in the Colgate record books for career assists (365), 4th in assist percentage (22.3), and 8th in assists per game (3.0) as a Raider.
Coach Rolls earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from Colgate University in 2013.