ST. CHARLES, Mo. - CollegeInsider.com has announced that Men's Basketball Head Coach Kyle Gerdeman has been named a finalist for the 2025-26 Skip Prosser Man of the Year award. The award is presented annually to the Division I coach who wins with integrity on and off the court. The Skip Prosser Man of the Year award honors those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who displays moral integrity on and off it as well.
 
In his seventh year at the helm, Gerdeman has brought in two key pieces to the 2025-26 squad in Dontrez Williams and Mekhi Cooper to highlight his integrity off the floor. Williams set the Lindenwood Men's Basketball Division I Era record with 69 steals this season and is 8th in the nation in steals per game averaging 2.6 per contest. Meanwhile, Cooper set the Division I Era record for assists in a single season with 128. As a team, the Lions set a Division I Era record by winning their 17th game of the season at Western Illinois on Saturday and solidified their first winning season at the Division I level. 

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com. The 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, IN, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.