Coaching Staff

Todd Eisner
Head Men's Basketball Coach

The 2022-23 basketball season will mark the eighth year that Todd Eisner has been the head coach of the Warrior men's basketball program and his 25th season overall as a head coach at the collegiate level.

In 2021-22, Eisner led the Warriors to a 15-11 overall record and a return to the NSIC playoffs. The 2021-22 campaign saw WSU start the year with a three-game winning streak and included a highlight reel win on the road at Northern State, when the Warriors beat the Wolves 83-74 in front of 3,500 fans in Aberdeen. In addition, nearly 1,000 fans saw Winona State defeat Minnesota State 73-59 at home, the best attended contest of the season in McCown Gymnasium last year. The Warriors were an impressive 8-3 on home court last season and qualified for the NSIC postseason, hosting a first-round contest against the University of Mary.

Eisner reached a monumental coaching milestone during the pandemic shortened 2020-21 season, winning his 500th career game on February 13 with a 77-58 victory over Concordia-St. Paul.  His career head coaching record is now an impressive 501-240, with stops at Viterbo University, Bellevue University, Benedictine College and Midland University, prior to arriving at Winona State University in August 2015.

Eisner has been instrumental in developing championship level basketball programs, both on and off the court, throughout his career.  He is the only coach in NAIA Division II history to lead three different programs to the Elite Eight of the national tournament - Viterbo, Bellevue and Midland -  with two of those programs advancing to the national championship game (Bellevue, Midland) on three separate occasions (2004, 2008, 2014).  The success of the Midland program during their 2013-14 national runner-up campaign earned Eisner the 2014 NAIA Division II Rawlings National Coach of the Year Award.

In 17 seasons as a head coach at the NAIA level, Eisner had five teams win at least 30 games in a season and 11 of those programs qualified for the NAIA Division II national tournament.  Player development has always been a high priority in his programs and during his time at the NAIA level, Eisner had a player named either first-team, second team or third team NAIA All-American six times.

Since taking the helm of the program, Eisner has an overall Warrior record of 100-85, good for a .541 winning percentage, including three third place finishes in the always competitive NSIC South and two appearances in the NSIC Tournament semi-finals.  Building an offensive philosophy with a mantra of wanting all five players on the court to be a threat behind the three-point line, the 2019-2020 Warrior squad set an NSIC record for most three-point field goals made (248) and attempted (656) in conference play.  The Warriors also set a NSIC record for an individual game during the shortened pandemic season in 2020-2021 with 47 three-point field goal attempts at Augustana.

The Warriors have had at least one player gain NSIC All-Conference recognition in every one of Eisner’s seasons in charge, including most recently Alec Rosner following the 2021-22 season.  Prior to Rosner's accolades,  Kevion Taylor was named all-conference three times, including two first team nods in 2020 and 2021.  Caleb Wagner was also named all-conference multiple times, with 1st team recognition in 2020 and 2nd team status in 2018.  Tommy Gathje, Riley Bambenek and Kyle Bauman each were named to the NSIC All-Conference team during Eisner’s time on the Warrior sideline.

Another Warrior standout, Devin Whitelow, orchestrated the Winona State offense during his time in McCown Gymnasium and the Warriors finished first overall in NCAA Division II for the Fewest Turnovers Per Game in 2020, only turning the ball over 8.7 times per game.  Whitelow received national recognition in 2019 when he broke the NCAA record at any level by producing the best Assist to Turnover Ratio for a season with 5.96 assists for every turnover committed. Whitelow concluded his career by earning the inaugural Don Olson Outstanding Senior Award from the NSIC.

Excelling in the classroom will always be a priority for any program that Eisner is involved with, and the Warriors have done an outstanding job being true student-athletes during this time.  The team has finished with a cumulative GPA of over 3.0 in each of Eisner's season.  The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) has recognized the Winona State men’s basketball program with the prestigious NABC Team Academic Excellence Award every season since 2015.  Also, in 2020-21, the Warriors placed seven student-athletes on the NABC Honors Court for academic excellence, which was the highest total of players of any team in the NSIC that season.

A 1991 graduate of Creighton University with a double major in finance and business management, Eisner was an integral part of two Missouri Valley Conference championships and two appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 1989 and 1991.  He led the MVC in three-point field goal percentage during the 1988-1989 season and was named a captain of the Bluejays the following season.

The Chilton, Wisconsin native played high school ball for his father, Jim, where he led the Tigers to the 1986 WIAA Class B state championship.  He finished his high school career with 1,840 career points.  Eisner was enshrined in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a player in 2014.  In 2017, he was also inducted into the Chilton High School Wall of Honor and the Bellevue University Athletics Hall of Fame for his coaching accolades.

Eisner resides in Winona with his wife, Andrea, who is an administrator in the Arcadia (Wis.) School District.

Zach Malvik
Associate Head Coach

Former Warrior standout Zach Malvik is entering his eighth year on the coaching staff for the Winona State men’s basketball team in 2021-22. He was promoted to the position of Associate Head Coach prior to the start of the 2019-20 season.

With more than a decade of Division II experience as both a player and a coach, Malvik brings extensive experience to the Warrior bench. The Holmen, Wisconsin native previously served as an assistant at Saint Mary’s University (SMU) in Winona and also spent three seasons playing professional basketball in Australia.

He has coached eight All-NSIC players during his tenure at Winona State, including a pair of 2019-20 First Team All-NSIC selections in Kevion Taylor and Caleb Wagner. During the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach at SMU, Malvik helped coach Will Swiggum to All-Conference honors.

Prior to his season at SMU, Malvik played professionally for three seasons in Australia. He also spent time as a graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas

One of the greatest basketball players in Winona State history, Malvik was the cornerstone of a team that went 32-4 during the 2005-06 season, culminating with the program’s first National Championship. He led the Warriors to a 35-1 record the next year, helping the team earn their way back to the NCAA Division II National Championship game.

Malvik was an All-American selection during his senior season while being named the MVP of the NCAA Regional Tournament. The point guard was an All-NSIC selection in each of his four years with the program. Malvik ended his career as the program’s all-time assist leader (549) and graduated second on the school’s scoring charts (1,971).

The legendary Warrior is a two-time Winona State Hall of Famer – being inducted in 2018 with his teammates who comprised WSU's historic "Run" from 2005-08, and once again in 2019 as an individual athlete.

He graduated with a business administration degree in 2007 and received a Master’s Degree in educational leadership and sports management from WSU in 2016. Malvik and his wife, Callie, have a son, Zander, and daughter, Zoey.

Caleb Wagner
Assistant Coach

Caleb Wagner joined the Winona State University men's basketball staff in August of 2022. Wagner played at Winona State between 2016-2020 and earned his Bachelor's Degree in Finance. He also has earned his Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis-Athletic Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As a Warrior, Wagner was a NSIC First-Team All-Conference selection following the 2019-20 season and earned second team NSIC honors in 2017-18. Academically, Wagner earned NABC Honors Court status in 2018-19 and was a two-time NSIC All-Academic selection. Wagner is currently 16th all-time in points scored at WSU (1,449) and 10th in 3-point field goals made (171).

The Muskego, Wis. product played football, basketball and baseball at MHS.

Jesse Gallager
Strength & Conditioning Coach

Jonah Bradley joined the Winona State men's basketball staff on Aug. 1, 2020.

Bradley comes to the Warriors after serving as the head coach of the boys basketball program Lincoln Southeast High School, where he led to the team to a 14-11 record in his final season, advancing to the district tournament final. In addition to coaching at Lincoln Southeast, the Norfok, Neb. native has coached within the AAU ranks, leading OSA adidas Gauntley and Lincoln Supreme 16U teams.

Collegiately, Bradley excelled as a four-year starter at Nebraska Wesleyan University from 2010 to 2014, and his career marks in 3-point field goals and career free throw percentage both still reside in the NWU Top 10.

Bradley was a standout in basketball at Norfolk High, where he helped lead the Panthers to the Nebraska Class A state final in 2010. He also lettered four times in cross country and track and field.

Bradley earned his Bachelor's degree in chemistry and is pursuing his masters degree while coaching at Winona State University.