A coach with extensive experience around the country, Jeff Rutter enters his fifth season as an assistant coach for Miami. He focuses on running the RedHawk offense, along with working with the Miami perimeter players.
In his four seasons with the RedHawks, Rutter helped lead Miami to 56 wins, most in a four-year span since 2009-12, and a berth in the 2018 CBI. In 2020-21, Miami recorded its first winning season since 2009 and notched a Ken Pom rating of 145, which was the RedHawks’ highest since 2010.
During the 2020-21 season, the RedHawks recorded the highest offensive efficiency ranking in school history in the Ken Pom era (since 2002). Miami ranked second in the MAC in three-point field goal percentage at .365 (62nd in the country), third in made three-pointers (8.6), and third in free-throw percentage (.776). Miami recorded 10.8 turnovers per game to rank second in the MAC and 20th nationally. The RedHawks scored 96 points twice in 2020-21, both coming in MAC play. Miami also excelled on defense, ranking second in the MAC in points allowed (71.61) and third in rebound defense.
Rutter has mentored and helped develop several standout RedHawks who have earned All-MAC honors, including guard Darrian Ringo, who was named to the All-MAC Defense Team and was the only player in the nation to finish in the top 10 in both assists and steals. Rutter also saw several players earn honors for their play. During the past four years, four RedHawks have been named to the All-MAC Freshman Team. Nike Sibande earned MAC Freshman of the Year honors and was an all-conference selection. Mekhi Lairy, Dae Dae Grant and Dalonte Brown have also been named to the MAC All-Freshman teams. Grant has received All-MAC honors, while Brown has scored more than 1,200 points and has recorded over 650 rebounds in his career.
Prior to arrive at Miami, Rutter spent four seasons at Drake, first as an assistant coach and then serving the last half of the 2017 season as the interim head coach. He was the lead recruiter for Reed Timmer, the program’s all-time leading scorer and three-time MVC Men’s Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year. Timmer was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team. Rutter also recruited forward Nick McGlynn, a First-Team MVC selection, and recruited a group that led the nation in NABC Honors Court selections with seven. During Rutter’s tenure as head coach, he helped the Bulldogs win five-straight home games, secure a road win at Missouri State (their first win in Springfield in 25 years), finish third in the league in scoring, first in three-point shooting and score over 100 points twice.
Prior to his time with Drake, Rutter spent seven seasons at Iowa State. During his time with the Cyclones he helped coach 13 All-Big 12 student-athletes and 32 professional basketball players (nine NBA players). Rutter helped guide the Cyclones to two NCAA Tournaments, both times advancing out of the first round. He spent the first four seasons of his ISU tenure as an assistant coach with Greg McDermott before assuming the role of director of operations in the spring of 2010 under Fred Hoiberg.
“Jeff has been around a lot of successful coaches like Greg McDermott, Fred Hoiberg and Ray Giacoletti,” said Miami head coach Jack Owens. “He has a lot of experience and a great basketball mind from an offensive standpoint. He also helps us recruit quality players.”
After serving as a graduate assistant at North Dakota State from 1990-92, Rutter began his coaching career as a full-time assistant with the Bison from 1992-95. He helped NDSU win the NCC Championship in 1995 and advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament in 1994 and 1995. He then spent a season as an assistant at Stetson before taking on his first head coaching job at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where he helped rebuild that program from 1996-03. Rutter than spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Northern Iowa from 2003-06 and advanced to three straight NCAA Tournaments before following head coach Greg McDermott on to Iowa State.
Rutter and his wife, Shari, have a son, AJ, and daughter in law, Rachel.
