Josh Buettner was named head men’s basketball coach on April 16, 2021. Buettner earned his second GLIAC Coach of the Year distinction at his alma mater in 2024-25 leading the Huskies to an outright GLIAC regular season championship after finishing 17-3 in GLIAC play. Buettner saw junior guard Marcus Tomashek earn accolades of GLIAC Player of the Year, Midwest Region Player of the Year, D2CCA First Team All-American and NABC All-American while being on the Bevo Francis Top-25 Watch List. Michigan Tech made it to the NCAA Second Round after defeating rival Northern Michigan in the opening round of the Midwest Region Tournament. Tomashek also earned All-GLIAC First Team accolades as Dawson Nordgaard was named All-GLIAC Second Team and Josh Terrian earned GLIAC All-Defensive team honors for the second-straight season. The Huskies went 24-8 overall and had a record of 13-1 inside the SDC Gymnasium for the year.
In 2024-25, Buettner led the Huskies to an 11-17 record overall and 8-10 in the GLIAC. Sophomore standout Marcus Tomashek earned D2CCCA All-Region Second Team honors also earning All-GLIAC first team honors. Sophomore Josh Terrian was named to the GLIAC All-Defensive team.
In 2022-23, Buettner’s Huskies upset the No. 1 seed Wisconsin Parkside in the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals, then defeated Grand Valley State in the semifinals to reach the GLIAC Championship with three freshmen in the starting lineup. The Huskies were tournament runners up, falling to NMU 79-66 in Big Rapids. Freshman Dan Gherezgher was named All-GLIAC Second Team as Tech finished 10-20 overall, 5-13 in GLIAC contests.
In his first season at the helm, Buettner was named GLIAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Huskies to a 21-7 record and a GLIAC Regular Season Championship with a record of 16-4. MTU defeated Wisconsin-Parkside in the 2021-22 GLIAC quarterfinals before falling in the semifinals. Buettner helped senior Owen White earn First Team All-District Recognition as well as First Team All-Region honors.
As associate head coach in 2020-21, Buettner helped the Huskies qualify for the NCAA Midwest Region Championship game. The Huskies finished 15-8 overall as 12-6 in the GLIAC North Division. Prior to his promotion to Associate Head Coach, Buettner served 13 seasons as assistant coach after taking the position in July, 2008. He has recruited four All-Americans and numerous All-GLIAC First Team selections since his appointment.
“Coach Buettner has the playing, coaching, and recruiting experience to lead our men’s basketball program,” Michigan Tech Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret said. “Over the past 13 years, he has demonstrated the core values that we look for in coaches at Michigan Tech with loyalty, passion, integrity, tradition, teamwork, and a commitment to academic and athletic success. I am very excited to work with Josh and confident that he will continue the tradition of excellence.”
“I am honored to be named the Head Coach of the Michigan Tech men’s basketball program,” Buettner said. “I would like to thank Dr. Sanregret for giving me the opportunity to lead this team that I care so deeply about. I’m excited to work to continue the standards and success that Coach Luke has built. We have a terrific group of young men, and we will work to have a team that will make the university, alumni, and community proud.”
Buettner was appointed Associate Head Coach prior to the start of the 2020-21 season and served the last 13 seasons as Assistant Coach after taking the position in July 2008. He has been the chief recruiter for the Huskies, responsible for bringing in top talent, which has included five All-Americans and seven All-GLIAC First Team selections.
A Shawano, Wisconsin native, Buettner began as a star student-athlete at Michigan Tech, playing for the Huskies from 2001-05 as a power forward/center. He is a two-time All-American and earned GLIAC Player of the Year honors his junior and senior seasons. Buettner finished his collegiate career third on Tech’s all-time scoring chart with 2,061 points.
Kevin Luke added, “I’m very excited for Coach Buettner. He will be an excellent head coach. I’m looking forward to him continuing and building on the program’s successes!”
Following graduation, Buettner played professionally in Europe for three years in leagues in Denmark, Switzerland, and Iceland, and was named the Danish Elite League Player of the Year in his second pro campaign. He also spent a year coaching high school-aged players on skill development in Svendborg, Denmark.
As the Assistant Coach, Buettner has helped the Huskies to four GLIAC North Division conference titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances. The Huskies have had seven All-GLIAC First-Team honorees, five GLIAC Players of the Year, five All-Americans, and two Academic All-Americans.
