Appalachian State coach Dustin Kerns clearly isn’t afraid of a challenge.

Presbyterian had never enjoyed any significant success as a Division One program and had won only five games during the season before Kerns took the school’s head coaching job. During his second season with the Blue Hose, in 2018-19, he led them to their first — and still only — winning record (20-16) and their first — and still only — postseason invitation (CIT). Since Kerns’ departure, the program has won less than 40 percent of its games.

In its first 49 years as a Division One member, App State had been to only two NCAA Tournaments: in 1979, under 31-year-old head coach Bobby Cremins (who left for Georgia Tech in 1981), and in 2000, under 36-year-old coach Buzz Peterson (who left immediately for Tulsa). In both years, the Mountaineers won the Southern Conference title and received the league’s automatic bid to the Big Dance.

In just his second season at App State, back in 2020-21, Kerns led the Mountaineers to their first Sun Belt championship (and automatic NCAA bid) and their third all-time NCAA Tournament invitation. In 2023-24, the Mountaineers went a sensational 16-2 in conference play and claimed their first regular-season title as a Sun Belt member, although they ended up in the NIT after falling in their league tournament that year.

Now in his seventh season in Boone, Kerns — the 2024 Sun Belt Coach of the Year — has built a strong foundation that combines top-notch, relentless team defense with impressive player retention/development, although the latter part of that formula has been complicated a bit by the NCAA transfer portal.

Nevertheless, four of App State’s top nine contributors this season came to Boone directly from the high school or international ranks. Both starters in the Mountaineers’ beefy frontcourt, power forward Michael Marcus Jr. (6-9/255) and center Luke Wilson (6-9/255), were sign-and-develop prospects Kerns found on the prep recruiting circuit. Wilson ranks among the Sun Belt’s leaders in rebounds and blocked shots.

Those developmental players have been supplemented by immediate-impact transfers from higher in the Division One ladder (former South Florida guard Kasen Jennings), lower in the D1 ladder (former Texas A&M-Commerce guard Alonzo Dodd) and the Division Two ranks (former Montana State-Billings star guard Jalen Tot). At 15 points per game, Jennings has more than doubled his previous career scoring average this season. Dodd, a returning starter for the Mountaineers, ranks among the league leaders in assists.

Regarding his program’s defense-first emphasis, Kerns said he has statistics showing that, during the past decade, nearly every conference champion in the so-called “one-bid leagues” (where only the conference tournament winner gets invited to the Big Dance) ranked in the top three of their league in defensive efficiency during the regular season.

“Sharing that with our guys, they automatically buy in (defensively),” Kerns told the North Carolina Sports Network. “Really good defensive teams win. Our guys take a lot of pride in having that reputation.”

Bolstered by the best defensive efficiency numbers in Sun Belt competition once again this season, the Mountaineers can clinch at least a share of the league’s regular-season title with a victory at Texas State on Friday, and they will be among the top seeds at the league tournament next week in Pensacola, Fla.