Jason Wiertel begins his second year as a part-time assistant coach in 2016-17. A native of Buffalo Grove, Ill., Wiertel enjoyed a storied career in two sports at Carthage between 1999 and 2002. In basketball, he was named National Association of Basketball Coaches second-team All-America in 2000, NABC first-team All-Midwest Region in 2000, 2001 and 2002, “D3hoops.com” All-American in 2000 (third team), 2001 (second team) and 2002 (first team), Lutheran Brotherhood All-American in 2000 and 2001, the CCIW/Fred Young Most Outstanding Player in 2000 (a co-winner) and first-team All-CCIW four-straight years from 1999 to 2002.
Wiertel is one of only five players to be named first-team All-CCIW four-straight years, two of which are from Carthage. He is ranked second on the Red Men’s career scoring list (2,133 points), first in field goals (838), first in field-goal attempts (1,626), third in free throws (417), third in free-throw attempts (607), third in blocked shots (130) and eighth in rebounds (748). Wiertel started all 110 games in his career, a school record, and he played on three NCAA teams, including the 2002 team which finished third at the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship.
As a pitcher on the baseball team, he was named first-team All-CCIW in 2001. Wiertel finished his Carthage baseball career ranked sixth on the all-time win list with 22 victories. He also earned GTE/CoSIDA academic all-district honors in 2000 and was named CCIW all-academic in both 2000 and 2002. Wiertel was inducted into the Carthage Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
Following his Carthage playing career, Wiertel played one season of professional basketball in Europe with the Luxembourg club team and was invited to a Milwaukee Bucks’ post-draft tryout in 2003. He served as a Carthage graduate assistant coach for the 2003-04 season.
Wiertel graduated from Carthage in 2002 with a bachelor’s in social science. He went on to earn a pair of master’s degrees, the first in educational administration and supervision from Governors State University in 2008 and other in educational technology from Concordia University (Ill.) in 2010.
Wiertel has taught in the Lisle Community School District in Lisle, Ill., since 2005, while also coaching basketball and baseball at Lisle High School. He served as the assistant coach for Lisle’s 2013 Illinois High School Association Class 2A state championship baseball team.
Wiertel married the former Sarah Christl, a Lady Reds volleyball player and a 2003 Carthage graduate, in 2005. The Wiertels and their three daughters (Alli, Gracie and Lucy) live in Oswego, Ill.
