Mark Linebaugh joined the Hobart basketball coaching staff prior to the start of the 2014-15 season following three seasons as the director of basketball operations at Colgate University.
In his first season, Linebaugh helped the Statesmen to an 18-8 record, the sixth most wins in a season for Hobart. Despite graduating the 2013-14 National Player of the Year (Richie Bonney) and the two-time Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year (Joe Gibbons), the Statesmen went 13-3 in Liberty League play and finished second in the regular season standings.
The following season, Hobart welcomed the top recruiting class in the Liberty League to campus. The Statesmen finished tied four in the league standings and were the only team to place two players on the Liberty League All-Rookie Team (Colin Dougherty, Jamal Lucas).
In 2016-17, Hobart posted a four-game improvement in the win column over the 2015-16 season, despite facing the 24th toughest schedule in the nation. Linebaugh helped the Statesmen go 16-11 while upsetting two-time defending Liberty League champion Skidmore in the conference tournament semifinals.
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During his three seasons in Hamilton, N.Y., Linebaugh helped the Raiders nearly double their win total from the season before he arrived, going from a 7-23 season in 2010-11 to 13-18 in 2013-14. He had a wide range of responsibilities at Colgate, including analyzing game video, scouting opponents, planning practices, coordinating team travel itineraries, and organizing community events.
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Before joining the program, Linebaugh was already very familiar with one Statesman, Trey Blanding. Linebaugh was Blanding’s head coach at Annville-Cleona (Pa.) High School. In 2010-11, they led the Dutchmen to a 21-7 record and the program’s first appearance in the state playoffs in a decade. Linebaugh was named the 2010-11 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section IV Coach of the Year. A native of Cleona, Linebaugh was 45-30 in three seasons at the helm of his alma mater. As a player for the Dutchmen, he was named the Pennsylvania Small School Player of the Year after leading Annville-Cleona to the AA State Championship in 1998-99.
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Linebaugh’s collegiate coaching career began with a single season as an assistant coach at Dickinson College.
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A 2004 graduate of Colgate, Linebaugh holds a bachelor’s degree in educational studies. A three-year starter for the Raiders’ basketball team, he ranks among the top 10 at the school in several statistical categories, including free throw percentage (3rd, .816), 3-pointers made (6th, 173), assists (7th, 258), steals (7th, 142), and points (10th, 1,389).
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As a first-year, Linebaugh averaged 10.1 ppg, ranked 15th in the nation in free throw shooting (.882), and was voted the Patriot League Rookie of the Year. He went on to garner All-Patriot League second team honors as a junior and senior. Linebaugh served as a team captain as a senior and shared that year’s team MVP award.
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After graduating from Colgate, Linebaugh spent four years as a player and a coach with Falcon Basketklubben, a professional basketball team in the Danish First Division.
