MSU-Northern Lights
Basketball Coaches

Shawn Huse  |  Gabe Walker 

Shawn Huse
Head Coach

(406) 265-4131
shuse@msun.edu

Shawn is in his sixth season as Head Coach for the Lights.  He guided them to a 20-11 finish last season, a 3^rd place tie in league play (9-5), an unofficial State Championship (8-2 in Montana League play) and a first-round win over Rocky Mountain College in the Conference Tournament.  They received votes in the NAIA polls from Jan. 10^th until the end of the season eight weeks later.  In the Frontier (2007-08), his squad finished in a first-place tie for 3-pt field goal percentage (39.1%), first in offensive rebounds/game (10.07 orpg), second in assists/ game (13.79 apg), and 3^rd in defense points allowed/game (67.4 ppg).

In his first five years, he led the Lights to a 91-69 record which includes two 20-win seasons (2003-04 & 2007-08), two 19-win seasons (2002-03 & 2005-06) and two unofficial Frontier State Titles (Best record in Montana League play 2003-04 & 2006-07).  In his first five years Shawn has recruited and coached league MVP Larry Morinia (2002-04) and five all-conference players (2002-07).

 Prior to working here at MSU-Northern, coach Huse served as the graduate assistant coach at the University of Nebraska-Kearney (UNK) for two years. His primary duty was coaching the defense, which ranked third out of fourteen teams, in points allowed at 71 points per game. While there, he coached in two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament championships. The 2001-2002 team finished regular season champs with a 24-6 overall record, a school record eighteen consecutive wins, finished the year ranked 13th in NCAA division II basketball. The 2000-2001 squad achieved a 22-6 overall record.

 Before coaching at UNK, Huse was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, for three years (1997-2000). While coaching there, one of his primary duties was recruiting. The teams won back-to-back Frontier Conference Tournament Championships and enjoyed the school's first-ever National Tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999.

 As a player at Montana Tech, his teams won the regular season championship twice, played in the Frontier Conference Championship game three times and captured the title in 1993. He was named League MVP in 1995, was named All-Conference in 1995 and 1994, earned Player-of-the-Week honors six times and earned Academic All-Conference honors as well.

 Huse was born and raised in Missoula, MT.  He has a Master of Arts degree in Education with an emphasis in Sports Administration from the University of Nebraska-Kearney (2002), a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics (Education emphasis) from the University of Montana (1997), and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering (with a Business minor) from Montana Tech (1995).

 Shawn's wife Stephanie is also from Missoula. She attended Montana Tech and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Safety and Health.  She was also a First-Team All-Conference volleyball player for the Orediggers in 1998.  She currently works as an Altacare counseling professional at Havre Middle School and earned her Master’s degree in Counseling from MSU-Northern in 2006.

 Stephanie and Shawn are the proud parents of their three-year old daughter, Molly, and eight-month old son, Matthew.

Gabe Walker
Assistant Coach
Sports Information Director

(406) 265-3543
gwalker@msun.edu

“We are very fortunate to have Gabe join our program,” Huse said. “He is a dedicated, enthusiastic young coach with a sincere passion for the game of basketball. “After watching Gabe perform as a player, and seeing him over the past few years in the coaching community,” Huse added. “I consider him to be a first-class guy who works very hard and carries himself in a positive while doing so.”  Walker graduated from Beaverhead County High School in Dillon in 1996 where he excelled in basketball and football. Among his high school achievements, Walker was selected to the 1996 Montana/Wyoming All-Star game, and the 1996 East/West Shrine football game. He graduated from UM-Western in 2004, and during his final basketball season for the Bulldogs, he led the Frontier Conference in 3-point field goal percentage. Walker also began his coaching career at Western as the head junior varsity coach for the 2004-2005 season, and he served on head coach Mark Durham’s staff. In 2005, Walker took a job as an assistant coach at Geyser, and this past school year, he was both the head boys and girls basketball coach at Geyser. “Gabe is a Montana guy who knows about the uniqueness, importance, level of competitiveness and excitement of basketball at all levels in our state,” Huse said. “That includes both the high school level and the Frontier Conference. I know he will play a key roll in maintaining the level our program is operating at, and he will play a big part in any future success the Lights enjoy.” While coaching at Northern, Walker will be working towards his Master’s degree, as well as working as the sports information director, which is a job Larson also held while at MSU-N. The 2006-2007 MSU-N men’s basketball season is slated to get under way in October.

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