Steve Pikiell

Steve Pikiell
Pikiell shouting while coaching Rutgers in 2017
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamRutgers
ConferenceBig Ten
Record161–159 (.503)
Annual salary$2.6 million
Biographical details
Born (1967-11-21) November 21, 1967
Bristol, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma materConnecticut
Playing career
1987–1991UConn
PositionPoint guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–1992UConn (assistant)
1992New Haven Skyhawks (assistant)
1993–1995Yale (assistant)
1995–1996Wesleyan (interim HC)
1997–2001Central Connecticut (assistant)
2001–2005George Washington (assistant)
2005–2016Stony Brook
2016–presentRutgers
Head coaching record
Overall358–333 (.518)
Tournaments1–3 (NCAA Division I)
1–4 (NIT)
0–2 (CBI)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards

Stephen Christopher Pikiell (/ˈpaɪkəl/ PYKE-əl; born November 21, 1967) is an American college basketball coach, currently the Scarlet Knights men's basketball head basketball coach at Rutgers University.[1] He was previously the head coach at Stony Brook University from 2005 to 2016, leading the Seawolves to their first NCAA tournament appearance in his final year. Pikiell was hired by Rutgers in 2016 and led the program to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 30 years in 2021.

Early years and playing career

Pikiell was born and raised in Bristol, Connecticut, and was one of nine children. He graduated from St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol in 1986.[2] At the University of Connecticut, Pikiell was as a point guard, two-year captain and four-year letter-winner for the UConn Huskies from 1987 to 1991.[3] He played in 106 career games and averaged 8.2 points a game as a freshman. While Pikiell was the team captain on the 1989–90 team that won their first Big East Conference title and advanced to the Elite Eight. The next season, his 1990–91 team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. In 1991, Pikiell was given the UConn Club Senior Athlete Award for outstanding athletic contributions.

Coaching

After graduation, Pikiell stayed on as an assistant for the UConn staff before moving on to Yale University as an assistant coach from 1992 to 1995.[4] During 1995-96, Pikiell served as the interim head coach at Wesleyan University.[5] His former coach and colleague Howie Dickenman then became the head coach for the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils and hired Pikiell as an assistant coach. He remained from 1997 to 2001, with the Blue Devils reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2000. Pikiell joined fellow UConn alum Karl Hobbs as an assistant for the George Washington Colonials from 2001 to 2005, where he was part of the Colonials teams that made the 2004 NIT and 2005 NCAA tournament squads.[4]

Stony Brook

On April 13, 2005, Pikiell replaced Nick Macarchuk as the 10th head coach in program history.[6] At the time, Pikiell became the first Connecticut alum who played for Calhoun to coach a Division I program.

Taking over a program that transitioned to Division I in 1999, Stony Brook endured three-straight losing seasons in his first three years. In the 2008–09 season, the Seawolves went 16–14 for its first winning season as a Division I program. The following year in 2009–10, Stony Brook earned their first regular season championship with a 22–10, 13–3 record, ending with a semifinal loss in the tournament. By virtue of winning the regular season, Stony Brook earned an NIT bid but lost to Illinois. Pikiell guided the Seawolves to a 15–17 mark in 2010–11, making a run to the America East Championship game after an upset over top-seeded Vermont in the semifinals, but lost to Boston on a last-second foul.[7]

From 2011 to 2016, Stony Brook won three America East regular season titles, while winning the conference tournament for the first time in school history in 2016 en route to the Seawolves' first NCAA tournament appearance. In that span, Stony Brook went 117–47, while appearing in two NIT and two CBI tournaments in addition to the NCAA Tournament appearance.[8][9] His overall record at Stony Brook was 192–155 in 11 seasons.[5]

Rutgers

On March 19, 2016, Pikiell was announced as the next coach at Rutgers University.[10][11] During the 2019–20 season, Pikiell led Rutgers to a 20–11 overall record and 11–9 in the Big Ten Conference. He earned the Jim Phelan Award for national coach of the year from Colleginsiders.com.[12]

On March 14, 2021, Pikiell's Rutgers team was named to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 1990–91 season. The Scarlet Knights earned a 10 seed in the tournament. On March 19, 2021, Rutgers won its first NCAA tournament game in 38 years, beating Clemson 60–56. This was also Pikiell's first win as a coach in the NCAA tournament.[13]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Wesleyan Cardinals (New England Small College Athletic Conference) (1995–1996)
1995–96 Wesleyan 5–18
Wesleyan: 5–18 (.217)
Stony Brook Seawolves (America East Conference) (2005–2016)
2005–06 Stony Brook 4–24 2–14 9th
2006–07 Stony Brook 9–20 4–12 9th
2007–08 Stony Brook 7–23 3–13 8th
2008–09 Stony Brook 16–14 8–8 5th
2009–10 Stony Brook 22–10 13–3 1st NIT first round
2010–11 Stony Brook 15–17 8–8 5th
2011–12 Stony Brook 22–10 14–2 1st NIT first round
2012–13 Stony Brook 25–8 14–2 1st NIT second round
2013–14 Stony Brook 23–11 13–3 2nd CBI first round
2014–15 Stony Brook 23–12 12–4 T–2nd CBI first round
2015–16 Stony Brook 26–7 14–2 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
Stony Brook: 192–156 (.552) 109–71 (.606)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Big Ten Conference) (2016–present)
2016–17 Rutgers 15–18 3–15 14th
2017–18 Rutgers 15–19 3–15 14th
2018–19 Rutgers 14–17 7–13 T–10th
2019–20 Rutgers 20–11 11–9 T–5th NCAA Division I Canceled
2020–21 Rutgers 16–12 10–10 T–6th NCAA Division I Round of 32
2021–22 Rutgers 18–14 12–8 T–4th NCAA Division I First Four
2022–23 Rutgers 19–15 10–10 T–9th NIT First Round
2023–24 Rutgers 15–17 7–13 T–12th
2024–25 Rutgers 15–17 8–12 11th
2025–26 Rutgers 14–19 6–14 14th CBC
Rutgers: 161–159 (.503) 77–119 (.393)
Total: 358–333 (.518)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ "Rutgers will hire Steve Pikiell as its new basketball coach". March 19, 2016.
  2. ^ "Steve Pikiell". George Washington University. 2004. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  3. ^ "Steve Pikiell". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "10 things to know about new Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell". NJ.com. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "10 things to know about new Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell". NJ.com. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  6. ^ "10 things to know about new Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell". NJ.com. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  7. ^ "BU Beats Stony Brook 56-54 For America East Title". March 12, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  8. ^ Breitman, Aaron (August 5, 2016). "Steve Pikiell Is Right Leader For Rutgers". On the Banks. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  9. ^ "Steve Pikiell Introduced As Rutgers Basketball Coach". March 22, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  10. ^ "Rutgers will hire Steve Pikiell as its new basketball coach". NJ.com. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  11. ^ "Steve Pikiell Hired as Head Coach of Rutgers". SNY. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  12. ^ Kratch, James (March 24, 2020). "Rutgers' Steve Pikiell wins national award after turnaround season". NJ.com. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  13. ^ "Rutgers Men Basketball team celebration for first NCAA tournament win in 38 years". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
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