Head Coach Rob Passage

Rob Passage completed his seventh season as men's basketball head coach in 2008-09. Passage guided the Hornets to an 18-7 record during his first season (2002-03), the team's best finish since the 1993-94 season. He led the Hornets to a fourth-place finish in the MIAA in 2005-06.

Three players have earned All-MIAA first team honors during Passage's tenure as head coach (Dirk Rhinehart '03, Ryan Konwinski '05 and Kyle Konwinski '06).

Passage played basketball at Kalamazoo College from 1989-93. Starting 100 of 102 career games, which were both records at the time, Passage helped lead the Hornets to 69 wins during his tenure. Serving as captain his senior year, Passage helped lead the Hornets to a second-place finish in the MIAA, garnering second-team All-MIAA honors in the process. He led the team in rebounding his final two years in the program and finished his career as Kalamazoo’s all-time leader in blocked shots.

Following graduation in 1993, Passage remained with the program as an assistant coach for six years and helped lead the Hornets to a 92-64 record, including a trip to the NCAA Division III National Tournament at the conclusion of the 1995-96 season.

In 1999, Passage became the top assistant at the University of Chicago, where he helped lead the Maroons to a 63-17 record over three years. In his three years at Chicago, the Maroons won two University Athletic Association (UAA) championships and made two trips to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. They reached the Sweet 16 in 2000 and the Elite 8 in 2001, after finishing that year as the number-one ranked team in the nation.

An active member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), in 2009 Passage was named to represent the MIAA on the NABC’s Division III Congress.  He also currently serves on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee and the Great Lakes Regional Advisory Committee.

Passage earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Kalamazoo College in 1993. He earned a master's degree in athletic administration at Western Michigan University in 1998.

In addition to coaching basketball, Passage is an associate professor of physical education and assistant athletic director for facilities and event management. 

Passage and his wife, Laura, reside in Kalamazoo with their son, Owen.

Jim Horn

Jim Horn returns for his fifth season on the coaching staff since he began his second stint with the Hornets in 2005. Horn previously coached the Hornets from 1993-95, including one year as the junior varsity head coach (1994-95).

Most recently, Horn served as an assistant coach at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in 2004-05. Horn served as head varsity coach at First Assembly Christian in Kalamazoo from 1995-2003 and won four consecutive conference championships (1997-01) and one district championship (2000-01).

Horn played high school basketball at Kalamazoo First Assembly and was a four-time team MVP, two-time All-State selection, and the Greater Kalamazoo All-Time leading scorer (1,990 points). He also set the Greater Kalamazoo single-game scoring record with 56 points.

Horn played two years of basketball at Polk Community College in Winter Haven, Fla. and was a co-captain and earned the team's Mr. Hustle Award in 1988-89. He played two years at Stetson University in Deland, Fla. and was co-captain and earned the Coaches Award in 1990-91.

Horn earned a bachelor's degree in physical education/sports administration from Stetson University in 1992. He earned a master's degree from Western Michigan University in 1997.

Jim and his wife, Carolyn, and daughter, Jaelyn, and son, Wesley, reside in Kalamazoo.

Ray Robinson
Assistant Coach

Ray Robinson completed his first season as an assistant coach with the Kalamazoo men’s program in 2008-09. He was an assistant with the women's team in 2007-08

Robinson played college basketball at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn. He graduated with a degree in social work in 1986. After graduation, he went on to work towards a master’s degree in sociology at Central Michigan University and a doctorate at Western Michigan University.

Robinson's coaching experience includes seven years as the boys' basketball varsity assistant coach at Portage Central High School and four years as the head junior varsity coach.

Robinson works as a mental health advocate at InterAct of Michigan, Inc. He lives in Kalamazoo with his wife, Chris, and their three children, Emily, Matthew and Garrett.

Jim and his wife, Carolyn, and daughter, Jaelyn, reside in Kalamazoo.

Jesse Vanabel
Assistant Coach

Jesse Vanabel enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Kalamazoo men's program in 2009-10.

Vanabel graduated with a bachelor's degree from Western Michigan University in 2003, where he studied physical education with an emphasis on coaching.

Vanabel's experience includes four years as a manager for the Western Michigan University men's basketball team, two years as a junior high coach at First Assembly Christian School under Jim Horn, and several years as an elementary community schools coach at Baraga Area Schools.

Jesse currently works as a manager for a contract research organization. He and his wife, Jessica, reside in Vicksburg.

Nate Orozco
Assistant Coach

Nate Orozco returned to Kalamazoo College in 2009-10 not as a player, but for his first season as an assistant coach with the Kalamazoo men's basketball program.

Orozco was a four-year member of the Kalamazoo College men's basketball team. During his career, Orozco played under head coach Passage from 2005-2009. In his final home game at Anderson Athletic Center, Orozco contributed to a 68-66 Hornet victory over MIAA league champioins Calvin College. Unfortunately, Orozco's collegiate basketball career was cut short after breaking his nose in the first round of the MIAA tournament against Olivet College. Orozco started in 31 of 80 games during his career, scoring 404 points and pulling down 223 rebounds. He scored a career-high 16 points in a game against Adrian and had eight rebounds in a game against Grinnell.

Before entering Kalamazoo College, Orozco was a multi-sport athlete at Lawton (Mich.) High School where he earned a total of 17 varsity letters in basketball, football, baseball, track, cross-country and golf. As a four-year member of the varsity basketball team, Orozco received first-team all-conference honors three times, honorable mention once, and a Southwest Michigan scoring title as a sophomore. In his senior year at Lawton, Orozco broke the school career scoring record of 1,187, finishing with 1,517 career points and reaching the 40-point mark twice. After his final season, Orozco was recognized as the first male Lawton basketball player ever to be selected Associated Press First-Team All-State.

Orozco earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and anthropology from Kalamazoo College. He currently lives in the Kalamazoo area and plans on returning to school in the fall of 2010 to work toward a master's degree in sociology.