Johns Hopkins University Athletics

Updated: May 2023

Josh Loeffler was named the 16th head men's basketball coach at Johns Hopkins on May 5, 2017 and he turned in one of the most successful first seasons in Hopkins and Centennial Conference history. 

Loeffler led the Blue Jays to a share of the Centennial Conference regular season title after being picked to finish fifth in the conference's preseason poll. He then guided Hopkins to its fourth Centennial Conference Tournament title and first since 2014. Loeffler is the first coach in conference history to guide his team to the tournament title as well as the first to earn CC Coach of the Year honors in his first season. His Blue Jays posted an impressive 24-5 record and climbed to as high as 12th in the national rankings before falling in the NCAA Second Round. The 24 wins are one shy of the school record while the Blue Jays put together a 14-game win streak from January 17 to March 3. In addition, Loeffler's 24 wins are both a Johns Hopkins and Centennial Conference record for a first-year head coach.

In 2018-19, the Blue Jays went 18-9 and returned to the Centennial Conference Championship game. The following year, Hopkins went 24-4 and upset top-ranked and undefeated Swarthmore on the road to win the 2020 Centennial Conference title. The Blue Jays hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament and were ranked as high as sixth in the nation. Junior Conner Delaney became the first player in program history to earn First Team All-America honors. He was also named the NABC and D3hoops.com Middle Atlantic Player of the Year, as well as the Cetennial Conference Player of the Year.

In the Blue Jays' return after the cancelled 2020-21 season due to Covid, Loeffler guided Hopkins to a 23-4 record and its third Centennial Conference Tournament title in four seasons. The Blue Jays were ranked as high as 10th in the nation en route to a trip to the NCAA Second Round. Delaney repeated as the CC Player of the Year as well as an NABC First Team All-American. 

Loeffler led Hopkins to its first NCAA Sweet 16 trip since 2015 as the Blue Jays tied the school record with 25 wins. The Blue Jays also played in the Centennial Conference title game for the fifth time. Sidney Thybulle repeated as the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Loeffler was named the Centennial and NABC Region 5 Coach of the Year.   

After just five seasons at Homewood, Loeffler already ranks second in program history in wins (114) and boasts the best win percentage (.808) of any coach in program history. 

Loeffler spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Loyola Maryland prior to taking over at Johns Hopkins. While with the Greyhounds, he was responsible for practice and game preparation, opponent scouting and recruiting. He recruited Andre Walker, the program's first First Team All-Patriot League selection. Walker earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors in 2016 and was an All-Rookie Team selection in 2015.

Loyola advanced to the Patriot League Quarterfinals in 2017 before falling to second-seeded Boston University. In all, Loeffler has coached four All-Patriot League selections, two Patriot League All-Rookie Team members and a Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year (for all sports) during his time with the Greyhounds.

Loeffler joined the Greyhounds after stints at Rutgers as Director of Basketball operation (2012-13) and as an assistant at Lafayette (2008-12). He was the recruiting coordinator for the Leopards and their 2011 recruiting class was the highest ranked in the Patriot League. While at Lafayette, Loeffler recruited a pair of All-Patriot League selections (First and Second Team) and three All-Rookie Team members. He also coached two additional all-league performers and another who was the 2012 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Prior to joining the Lafayette staff, Loeffler was the head coach at Stevens Institute of Technology for two seasons. In his first season in Hoboken, he guided the Ducks to a school-record 23 wins (23-7) and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance and was named the NABC and D3hoops.com Atlantic Coach of the Year. The following year, Loeffler led Stevens to a 23-6 record, tying the program record for wins in a season and setting the record for best win percentage (.793). His 2008 squad won the Empire 8 regular season title and led the nation in field goal percentage defense (.375). Loeffler coached a pair of two-time all-conference selections, a two-time all-region honoree and an Honorable Mention All-American.

Loeffler began his coaching career in 2003-04 at Hamilton College, where he helped the Continentals to a 19-8 record and an NCAA Tournament berth. He then joined the staff as a graduate assistant at St. Lawrence University for the 2004-05 season. He was the lead recruiter for the Saints' Class of 2009, which produced four 1,000-point scorers, a Liberty League Championship and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. Loeffler then joined the coaching staff at Williams, where he recruited the Class of 2010, which included a pair of 1,000-point scorers and the 2010 Jostens Trophy winner, and led the Ephs to the 2010 NESCAC Championship and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship.

Loeffler is a 2003 graduate of Swarthmore College with a degree in Economics. He was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter for the Garnet men's basketball team. He also played one year of football at Swarthmore. Loeffler is married to the former Helen Leitner, a 2004 Swarthmore graduate and member of the field hockey team. The pair live in Baltimore with their two daughters, Alison and Margot.