[1] Donnelly began his coaching as an assistant for three seasons at Division III Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.

His two seasons at Mars Hill turned the program from a perennial loser into a winner, prompting his early hiring away from that job.

[1] In 2009, Donnelly was hired as an assistant at Division I Northern Illinois University, and in 2010, he was promoted to the position of Associate Head Coach.

After three years at NIU, he was lured away to the higher profile program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he was hired as Associate Head Coach in 2012.

When, at the conclusion of the 2013 season, Kevin Kalish resigned for a job that would allow him more time with his family, Donnelly was named as his successor, becoming only the fourth head coach in the program's distinguished history.