After a magical run in the NCAA Tournament in which his Saint Peter’s squad became the first 15-seed to ever reach the Elite Eight, Shaheen Holloway is headed back to his alma mater to be the new Seton Hall head coach. Holloway played for the Pirates from 1996-2000 and later served as associate head coach under Kevin Willard from 2010-18.
“I am incredibly excited to welcome Shaheen Holloway and his family home to Seton Hall,” AD Bryan Felt said in the release on Wednesday. “Shaheen is a winner in every sense of the word, and he is not only an incredible coach, but also an incredible educator of young men. He works tirelessly to put his student-athletes in a position to succeed, and he makes them believe that they can achieve anything with hard work and determination.”
As news started to break before the Tournament that Willard was leaving for Maryland, which he ultimately did, it was no secret that Holloway would be a leading contender for the job. As the Peacocks upset Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue en route to an Elite Eight, it became even more clear that he was the right choice. Holloway went 64-54 overall in four seasons at SPU, building up from 10 wins in year one to 22 wins and the “cinderella magic” this past season.
“This is certainly a full circle moment for my family and I,” Holloway said. “Seton Hall is near and dear to my heart; it’s where I became a man, where I met the love of my life, where I spent countless hours honing my crafts as a basketball player and a basketball coach. To say that I’m excited to get started as the head men’s basketball coach at Seton Hall University would be an understatement. Thank you to President Nyre and Bryan Felt for this opportunity. It is a dream come true. Pirates fans, I look forward to seeing you all in the community, on campus and at the Prudential Center.”
Seton Hall has been to five of the last six NCAA Tournaments and are just two years removed from their first Big East title in nearly three decades. Holloway has catapulted his name and reputation (and the SPU program) into the stratosphere this month, making this a seemingly home run hire for the Pirates.
credit to Seton Hall Athletics for the image
