Rusty Grafel enters his fourth season as assistant coach at Fort Hays State in 2026-27. This is Grafel’s second stint on the men’s basketball coaching staff at FHSU after serving as a graduate assistant from 2007-2009 following his three years playing for the Tigers from 2004-2007.
In 2023-24, Grafel helped coach FHSU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016. The Tigers returned to the national tournament in 2024-25 as well. In the last three years as an assistant coach, the Tigers have produced eight all-conference selections and the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year once. FHSU led NCAA Division II in scoring defense for two-straight years, allowing just 57.9 points per game in 2023-24 and then 59.9 per game in 2024-25, and has been in the top 10 nationally all three seasons with Grafel serving as an assistant.
Grafel has been a coach at the NJCAA and NCAA Division I levels after his two years as a graduate assistant at FHSU. He started his journey as an assistant coach at Colby (Kan.) Community College for three years from 2009-12. He then elevated into the head coaching job at Colby from 2012-19. In 2019-20, Grafel moved on to become an graduate assistant coach at Texas Tech for a year. After that, he became the Director of Basketball Operations at Georgia Southern University where he spent three years from 2020-23.
As a head coach at Colby Community College, Grafel led the Trojans to 104 wins over seven seasons. He coached 13 All-KJCCC selections over the seven seasons, including three first-team selections, a conference defensive player of the year, and a conference freshman of the year.
As a player, Grafel played one year at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College before transferring to FHSU. He helped Hutchinson to a conference title during the 2003-04 season. Grafel helped FHSU to a combined record of 58-29 over his three seasons in Hays. He was a member of the 2005-06 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season championship team that finished 27-4 overall, made the NCAA regional semifinal, and held the No. 1 ranking in the NABC Division II Top 25 Poll at a point that season.
Grafel holds a bachelor’s in sports management and a master’s in sports administration from Fort Hays State University.
