Pat Baldwin joined the Valpo men's basketball staff as an assistant coach prior to the 2023-24 season.
In Baldwin’s first two seasons in Northwest Indiana, the Valpo coaching staff recruited and developed back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Freshmen of the Year, marking just the third time that the same team won that award in consecutive seasons since the honor began in 1986. In his second season on staff, Baldwin helped Valpo over double its win total from the previous year as the Beacons recorded 15 victories in 2024-25, the team’s highest output since 2019-20. Valpo picked up numerous breakthrough triumphs in Baldwin’s second season on staff en route to an MVC Tournament semifinal appearance. The team won a season series against Missouri State for the first time in 16 seasons of shared conference affiliation, defeated UNI in back-to-back matchups for the first time in 40 all-time meetings and beat Belmont for the first time since the Bruins joined the Missouri Valley Conference thanks to a 101-point output, Valpo’s highest in league play since 1998.
Baldwin brought head coaching experience to the Valpo bench as he spent five seasons as the head coach at Milwaukee before serving as an assistant coach under Patrick Ewing at Georgetown this past season. He has also worked under Chris Collins as an assistant coach during a successful run at Northwestern, so he has recent stops in the Big Ten and Big East to go along with his head coaching experience.
Prior to Milwaukee, Baldwin spent four seasons as a key member of Collins’ Northwestern staff. The Wildcats increased their win total in each of his four years there. In his final season on staff at his alma mater, Northwestern shattered a program record with 24 wins and achieved the first NCAA Tournament berth in program history. During his time on the Northwestern staff, he helped the team land a recruiting class that ranked in the top 30 nationally.
Before making his way to Northwestern in 2013, Baldwin had coaching stops at Lincoln University in Missouri (2001-2002), Green Bay (2002-2004), Loyola Chicago (2004-2011) and Missouri State (2011-2013). The 1994 Northwestern graduate was a three-year captain and etched his name in the program record book in numerous locations. He owns all three program records for steals – single game (nine), single season (90) and career (272). He ranks third in program history in assists (452) and fourth in single-season free-throw percentage (.880). He scored 1,189 career points and was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.
During his time at Milwaukee, Baldwin’s Panthers were among the NCAA leaders in free-throw percentage and nearly set a program record in 2018-19 at .746. His teams reached the Horizon League semifinals on three occasions and he helped the program climb four spots in the league standings from the previous year in his first season at the helm.
The Leavenworth, Kan. native played professionally in Bosnia and Croatia before joining the coaching ranks. Baldwin and his wife Shawn, a former Northwestern volleyball player, have four children – Patrick Jr., Tatum, Brooke and Claire. Patrick Jr. plays in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors.
What They’re Saying About Coach Baldwin
Patrick Ewing, NBA Hall of Famer and Former Georgetown Head Coach: “I enjoyed working with Pat Baldwin. He brought knowledge of the game and a great work ethic to my staff.”
Chris Collins, Northwestern Head Coach: “Pat Baldwin is a home run hire for Valpo basketball. He has a tremendous basketball IQ, does a great job developing players and is a tireless recruiter. Pat played an integral role in helping us recruit and develop our first-ever NCAA Tournament team in Northwestern basketball history. Most importantly, Pat is a high-character family man who will represent Valpo in a first-class manner in everything that he does.”
Jim Whitesell, Former Buffalo and Loyola Chicago Head Coach: “Pat is an incredible addition to Coach Powell’s staff. This is a home run. Pat brings a wealth of experience. He is well versed in every area that there is. Having had the opportunity to work with Pat, I have seen his work ethic, strong values and commitment to the student-athletes.”
