Bio

Rochester Christian University is a very familiar place for RCU VP of Athletics Dr. Klint Pleasant. After assisting him for four seasons, Pleasant took the reins from his father and long-time RCU basketball coach, Garth Pleasant. Coach Pleasant has enjoyed much success through his 14-year RCU head-coaching career, surmounting a record of 306-107 during his 14 seasons (overall coaching record of 339-155).

In the 2022-23 season, Pleasant coached the Warriors to a 20-10 record, coaching Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Newcomer of the Year Gunner Walters, who joined senior James Ballard Jr. as a member of the WHAC’s All-Conference Team. Walters and center James Fisher were also named to the WHAC’s All-Freshman Team. During the season, Pleasant and his squad hosted NCAA Division I Oakland University for the first time at Garth Pleasant Arena, where the team played a highly exciting contest in front of a sold-out crowd. The team also played against NCAA Division I opponent Detroit Mercy in a game featured on ESPN+. 

Under Pleasant, RCU has finished in the top five in the WHAC each year during its six years of WHAC membership. Aside from the shortened 2020-21 season, the Warriors have won 20 games in 11 of Coach Pleasant’s 13 seasons at the helm. Coach Pleasant also coached his seventh NAIA All-American in Virgil Walker Jr. in just nine years of full NAIA membership. He is also a two-time USCAA National Championship head coach, winning titles in 2018 and 2013.

The 2020-21 season amounted to tremendous success with a 13-4 finish, a Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference regular season title, and Pleasant being named WHAC Coach of the Year. The regular season was capped with a thrilling 19-point rally by the Warriors to win the regular season title, their first in just four years of WHAC membership. The Warriors then made their second WHAC Tournament finals appearance in four years. This marks a top 5 finish in all four years of WHAC membership. Aside from the shortened 2020-21 season, the Warriors have won 20 games in eight of Coach Pleasant’s nine seasons at the helm. Coach Pleasant also coached his seventh NAIA All-American in Virgil Walker Jr. in just nine years of full NAIA membership. He is also a two-time USCAA National Championship head coach winning titles in 2018 and 2013.

In his first season (2011-12), he led the Warriors to a 26-win season and a runner-up finish at the USCAA National Tournament. Pleasant built off his first season’s success and took RCU basketball on a historic run. In the school’s first full year as a member of the NAIA, Pleasant led the Warriors to a 30-win season, a USCAA National Championship, and a win over NCAA Division I foe Eastern Illinois University. Additionally, he led the school to its first-ever berth in the NAIA National Tournament, first top 10 NAIA national ranking, and coached the first two NAIA All-Americans in the school’s history in Dramell Hogan and Drew Maynard. Maynard and Hogan also represented the Warriors on the USCAA All-American team. In 2013- 2014, Pleasant led the Warriors to a 25-8 record reaching the USCAA National Tournament once again. RCU began the season ranked #25 in the NAIA preseason top 25 poll for the first time in school history. The Warriors finished the regular season ranked third in the USCAA and second in the A.I.I. conference, qualifying for the A.I.I. conference tournament for the second year in a row. 2014-2015 was no different, as RCU recorded a 22-11 season and went all the way to the USCAA National Championship game for the third time in Pleasant’s career.

During Coach Pleasant’s tenure, the Warriors have notched 14 USCAA All-Americans. Additionally, five different Warriors have been named to the NAIA All-American team. In 2013 both Dramell Hogan and Drew Maynard were named third-team and honorable mention NAIA All-Americans, respectively. The NAIA also recognized Stavros Schizas’ play as he was selected as an NAIA honorable mention All-American in 2014. In 2017, Angelo Griffis was named NAIA third-team All-American. Griffis was also the first Warrior to be featured on the Bevo Francis watch list, which names the top small college basketball players not competing in NCAA Division I basketball. In 2017-18, Justin Nafso received NAIA Honorable Mention All-American honors along with Armand Cartwright in the 19-20 season. Schizas, Jaylen Larry, Dramell Hogan, and Jeroen De Baat are playing professionally overseas.

Pleasant came to RCU from NCAA Division II Abilene Christian University, where he was the youngest NCAA Division II college coach in the country. At ACU, Pleasant coached the Wildcats to 25 wins in his first two seasons after taking over a program that had won only 13 games in the two previous seasons. Before coaching at ACU, Pleasant was an assistant coach at Kent State University (NCAA Div. I). During the 2001-2002 season, Pleasant helped coach the Golden Flashes to a Mid-American Conference record 30 wins as the team advanced to the NCAA Div. I Tournament’s Elite Eight. The University of Indiana denied them a trip to the Final 4 on a nationally televised game on CBS. Since then, that Kent State team was named the “Mid-American Team of the Decade.” Pleasant coached and played a major role in developing the team’s center, John Edwards, into an NBA player. Edwards went on to play for both the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks. He also coached power forward, Antonio Gates, who now plays in the NFL and is among the best tight ends in the game. In 2016, Kent State University inducted the entire 2001-02 team, and coaching staff, into the Kent State Athletic Hall of Fame.

Following his only season at Kent State, Pleasant was offered a chance to follow Head Coach Stan Heath to SEC powerhouse University of Arkansas. Pleasant, however, decided to remain at Kent State, only to be offered the head coaching job at ACU three months later. Before joining the Kent State program, Pleasant served as an assistant coach at (NCAA Div. I) University of Tennessee-Martin (1999-2001) and (NCAA Div. II) Wayne State University (1998-1999). While at UT-Martin, he helped the Skyhawks qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the first time in school history. During his tenure at WSU, Pleasant helped lead the team to a 25-5 record, a top 5 ranking in the country, a conference championship, and an NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen appearance. Pleasant completed his master’s degree in education in 1999 while coaching at UT-Martin.

Pleasant’s coaching career started at Lipscomb University, where he served as a student assistant under late head coach Don Meyer, who was the fastest coach to reach 700 victories in college basketball history. Before his coaching career, Pleasant played football for Abilene Christian University (NCAA Div. II) under Head Coach Bob Strader in 1994. He graduated college from Lipscomb University in 1998. As a prep, Pleasant attended Waterford Kettering High School in Waterford, Mich., and played football for legendary high school football coach Mike Berry. He was a unanimous first-team all-conference selection in football and was his team’s co-captain on the baseball, basketball, and football teams. His 48 pass receptions in his senior year put him among the top five in the state of Michigan.

Pleasant’s roots are planted deeply in Rochester Christian University’s soil as his grandfather Lucien Palmer was a founding father. Dr. Palmer served as the first academic dean of the College and later served as president for eight years. His father, Garth Pleasant, served at Rochester Christian University for nearly 40 years as the men’s basketball coach, athletic director, and faculty member.

Pleasant also serves as the Senior Vice President of Athletics and Special Assistant to the President. The athletic department has seen the addition of eleven sports since Pleasant was given oversight of the Athletic Department. In 2015-2016 RCU won the USCAA Director’s Cup with a first-place finish. This is awarded to the most successful overall athletic department within the USCAA. On several occasions, RCU has been named an NAIA Champions of Character Five Star Institution, including its first-ever Gold Level recognition for the 2017-18 year. Pleasant was honored as the A.I.I. Conference 2012 NAIA Coach of Character, which is given to one coach in the Association of Independent Institutions conference every year that displays the NAIA's five core values: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership.

In 2015-2016 Pleasant was also named the USCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year. And in 2016-17, he was named the A.I.I Conference Coach of the Year. Pleasant spent eight years as the Vice President of Enrollment, increasing new student enrollment each year, including the largest incoming class in the school’s 58-year history enrolled in the fall of 2017. In September of 2019, Pleasant earned a Doctor of Education degree from Lipscomb University.

The Pleasant family experienced some personal struggles after moving back to Rochester Hills, as Rachel survived a brain tumor and several surgeries. Rachel and Klint frequently travel to various places as they speak about their incredible journey. Klint also speaks regularly throughout the region. Pleasant resides in Rochester Hills with his wife Rachel (Stevens) and two daughters, Abigail, who will be turning 19 years old on January 1, and Julia, who will turn 14 this November.