“Coach Pikiell and his staff have developed and built Stony Brook University men’s basketball into an upper echelon program within the America East Conference,” Fiore said. “Steve has proven himself to be a talented recruiter and mentor to our student-athletes, and he embodies the core values we endeavor to teach our student-athletes both on and off the court. Personally, I’m thrilled Steve has agreed to lead Seawolves basketball well into the future, and I look forward to seeing the program rise further under his leadership.”
“I am honored and grateful for the continued opportunity to coach at such a distinguished institution that has so much to offer its student-athletes,” Pikiell said. “I want to thank Jim Fiore, President Stanley and the entire Stony Brook administration for their commitment and confidence in the plan we have put in place to develop Stony Brook men’s basketball. I also want to thank my entire staff for their tireless efforts and dedication to our program. We will continue to work hard to bring in talented student-athletes, mentor them and produce a program that the university, the alumni and the community are proud to support.”
Pikiell led Stony Brook to its first-ever appearance in the 2011 America East Championship final after knocking off higher seeded Albany and Vermont in the first two rounds. Pikiell’s squad came within a basket of going to the NCAA Tournament, losing to Boston University, 56-54, in a game that was nationally televised on ESPN2. Pikiell was the leader of a Seawolves defense that finished ninth in the country in field goal defense, holding opponents to 39 percent shooting, a number that ranks in the 97th percentile among 335 qualifying Division I teams.
Over the last three seasons, Pikiell’s Seawolves have achieved a 29-19 record during conference play, the third-best mark among the America East’s nine members and behind only the last two conference champions Boston University (2011) and Vermont (2010).
Pikiell’s success in 2010-11 came on the heels of a historic 2009-10 season, in which his squad set Division I records in overall wins (22) and conference wins (13), won 10 straight games and won the program’s first-ever America East regular season championship. The Seawolves also earned their first-ever postseason berth, hosting Illinois in the first round of the 2010 NIT.
Pikiell has also achieved great success mentoring his student-athletes off the court. In the year prior to his start, 2004-05, the team had a rolling APR (four-year) of 880 and a season APR of 804, one of the lowest in the country. In 2009-10, Stony Brook had a rolling APR of 951 and a perfect 1000 for the season, signaling the type of young men he has recruited who understand the commitments of being a student in addition to being an athlete. Under Pikiell’s watch in 2008, Ricky Lucas became Stony Brook’s first-ever America East All-Academic first team honoree, and then in 2010, Andrew Goba became the program’s first-ever America East Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Pikiell has garnered numerous accolades for his efforts at Stony Brook. He was named the 2008-09 America East Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com. In 2010, he was named the America East Coach of the Year by the conference. He was also named the 2010 Metropolitan Writers Coach of the Year and Sporting News America East Coach of the Year and also was the Times Village Herald Man of the Year for 2010.
Pikiell will return four of his five starters from this past season, as he looks to guide the Seawolves to their first-ever conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth. Deposits for new season ticket accounts are now being taken through the Stony Brook Athletics ticket office. For more information, visit GoSeawolves.org or call (631) 632-WOLF.
